mauricebarringer
Joined Oct 2004
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mauricebarringer's rating
I appreciate all the pro and con reviews from the knowledgeable and literate film buffs. However, I want to address the reviewers who stated that the film was a financial flop.
This film cost $741,000 to produce and it made $1,800,000, which was a sizable profit back in 1937.
This film cost $741,000 to produce and it made $1,800,000, which was a sizable profit back in 1937.
I was quite impressed with the thoughtful, knowledgeable and humorous comments written by so many classic film experts and their keen insights of such a detailed and complicated plot
Since this wonderful noir has been dissected so thoroughly I only have one item to analyze and one other comment to make.
In the beginning of this film Edmund O'Brien jumped out of a window and ran away. The police shot one bullet at him before Ed Begley told the other officer not to take any more shots and risk hitting a taxpayer.
O'Brien was ONLY a person of interest at best and a suspect at worst, but there was NO evidence of any type that he had anything to do with a murder. Why did the police take a shot at him?
P.S. Virginia Mayo did get to star in many musicals, adventure and comedy films during her career, especially from the late 1940s on but probably her 2 best known films were ones in which she played bad girls, "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "White Heat."
Since this wonderful noir has been dissected so thoroughly I only have one item to analyze and one other comment to make.
In the beginning of this film Edmund O'Brien jumped out of a window and ran away. The police shot one bullet at him before Ed Begley told the other officer not to take any more shots and risk hitting a taxpayer.
O'Brien was ONLY a person of interest at best and a suspect at worst, but there was NO evidence of any type that he had anything to do with a murder. Why did the police take a shot at him?
P.S. Virginia Mayo did get to star in many musicals, adventure and comedy films during her career, especially from the late 1940s on but probably her 2 best known films were ones in which she played bad girls, "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "White Heat."
I wanted to respond to a few comments about this wonderful film (which was a strong and highly effective character study). Dana Andrews received billing over Henry Fonda because Andrews was at the peak of his career with A WALK IN THE SUN, LAURA, THE FALLEN ANGEL AND THE BEST FILM OF 1946, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIFE. He was a superstar at that time and held on to stardom until the early 1960s but in films of lesser quality as the years went by. He was an excellent and underrated actor.
Henry Fonda, whose first starring role was in 1935, was in the middle of his long career, not in the early stages as one writer said. Fonda, after serving 3 full years in WWII, had a difficult time maintaining his stardom, was never a strong box office star but was an outstanding actor. Fonda did not make any films after 1948 until MR. ROBERTS in 1955, his comeback. He constantly did fine and critically acclaimed stage work. Peter, his son, said he was gray-listed because of his liberal political views also. Fonda worked in major films with lead roles in films and on television until his death in 1982.
Fonda was under contract and was forced to perform in this film by his studio. Andrews liked working with Otto Preminger and did so 4 times. Andrews was easy to work with and the autocratic Preminger liked Andrews because of his professionalism, easy going personality and outstanding acting ability.
I was surprised that something more was not said or done about Dana Andrews' child torturing wife. Andrew shed a tear but did not report this beast to the authorities. (She yanked on her child's ear until the ear bled and the child had a significant ear ache.) That, even in the dark ages, should have been enough to have the child removed from her care, wouldn't it?
Henry Fonda, whose first starring role was in 1935, was in the middle of his long career, not in the early stages as one writer said. Fonda, after serving 3 full years in WWII, had a difficult time maintaining his stardom, was never a strong box office star but was an outstanding actor. Fonda did not make any films after 1948 until MR. ROBERTS in 1955, his comeback. He constantly did fine and critically acclaimed stage work. Peter, his son, said he was gray-listed because of his liberal political views also. Fonda worked in major films with lead roles in films and on television until his death in 1982.
Fonda was under contract and was forced to perform in this film by his studio. Andrews liked working with Otto Preminger and did so 4 times. Andrews was easy to work with and the autocratic Preminger liked Andrews because of his professionalism, easy going personality and outstanding acting ability.
I was surprised that something more was not said or done about Dana Andrews' child torturing wife. Andrew shed a tear but did not report this beast to the authorities. (She yanked on her child's ear until the ear bled and the child had a significant ear ache.) That, even in the dark ages, should have been enough to have the child removed from her care, wouldn't it?