Good start, but then it gets ruined

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

'Caught' is nearly great and very ambitious film-noir exercise by great master Max Ophüls. This movie is undeservedly and too often overlooked that it is almost forgotten. Even by the fans of film-noir genre. The story revolves around novice model Leonora Eames (Barbara Bel Geddes in one of her best roles), who is gorgeous, but naive gal who has the dreams about romantic marriage with wealthy guy. At first, everything seems to be going great, but then director Max Ophüls twists and turns this fairytale about American Dream all upside down and with that he manipulates and playes with the viewer. In that era, movies about poor girl finding her wealthy prince were very popular, and they usually started and ended like fairytales. 'Caught' is using the same formula, but only in a quite sadistic way. The story winds up into the place where there can't be any good outcome, thus leaveing the veiwer in the same desparate mood as the main heroine of the story. The ending is total hack job, but one can probably understand the times the film was made and the studio system that ruled the film industry. 'Caught' is too good movie to be so unfairly overlooked.

Copyright 15 February 1949 by Enterprise Productions, Inc. (in notice: 1948). An MGM picture. U.S. release: April 1949. New York opening at the Capitol: 17 February 1949. U.K. release: 25 July 1949. Australian release: 1 December 1949. Sydney release at the St James: 2 November 1949. 8,032 feet. 89 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A poor girl who dreams of money and luxury, marries a psychotic millionaire.NOTES: James Mason's first Hollywood film. However he doesn't come in until half-way. The film was originally released world-wide by MGM. Subsequently it was re-issued by independent exchanges. It opened in London at the Empire, Leicester Square, on 25 July 1949. The British Censor gave the film an "A" certificate and cut the length to 7,896 feet — a loss of over a minute.COMMENT: Any film directed by Max Ophuls is must viewing — and this one follows directly after his American masterpiece, Letter from an Unknown Woman. Oddly enough, the film was not appreciated by contemporary critics to nearly the same extent. They were frightened off by the novelettish subject matter, despite the realistic yet stylish treatment accorded to it by Ophuls, his technicians, his players, and not least screenwriter Arthur Laurents.The writing with its careful filling-in of background, the realistic sets, the stylish deep-focus photography, and the believable performances transcend the film's dime-novel genesis. The characters are sharply etched and fascinatingly played. Barbara Bel Geddes is winning and sympathetic as the credible but by no means admirable gold-digger. A difficult role which she plays both with charm and total conviction.Robert Ryan has a more tailor-made part as the psychotic millionaire. Yet despite his familiarity, he still succeeds in dominating every scene in which he appears, giving a fascinating portrayal of a self-centered ego that feeds not only on those around but on himself. At times ingratiating, at times sullen and morose, at times eccentric and psychotic, Ryan like Bel Geddes gives a rounded interpretation of a fully three-dimensional character. The other players, having less to do with the action, are conceived in more simple terms. Chief of these of course is James Mason, who plays the slum doctor in his usual vigorous style, perhaps blurring some of the nuances and subtleties intended by the scriptwriter in the process. Quinada is dedicated and altruistic, yet at the same time a mean man with a buck, a workaholic who is human enough to feel tired, depressed, angry, even selfish and unsympathetic. Oddly enough, Mason's brusque, brisk performance tends to over-emphasize the negative aspects of the character, so that as a foil and a contrast to Robert Ryan's vicious millionaire, he is not wholly engaging. This is what causes the film to lose a fair amount of its tension. The plot and the requirements of the Hays Office are not wholly to blame.Outstanding among the support players, Curt Bois brings a fascinating credibility — even sympathy — to his role of a vicious pimp. Natalie Schafer, Frank Ferguson and Art Smith contribute their usual effective characterizations.Thanks to Lee Garmes' camera-work and appropriately atmospheric lighting, and the superb sets ranging from mansions to mean hovels designed by Frank Sylos, the film is always most attractive to look at. The fluid and inventive camera, the tight compositions and taut pace, stamp it firmly as the work of a master European director. No gangsters — but film noir at its most expressive.

Spoiled by a really crappy ending and a miscasting of Barbara Bel Geddes.I love noirs and made a point of acquiring this one. 1949. A woman marrying for money to a rich psychopath based on Howard Hughes, they say.Barbara is too goody-two-shoes, too girl-next-door for a woman who finds her strength when she gets a job of worth with a pair of doctors. I don't see what James Mason, playing Larry, saw in her.Robert Ryan is brilliant as her wealthy husband. And the slimy Franzi, his sycophantic side-kick is brilliant.And the ending was hugely disappointing, if I got into it I'd give the plot away, but it came across as a complete copout. Rushed, hurried and leaving too many plot holes unfilled.6 out of 10.

Moody drama with fantastic acting. All three leads offer strong performances. Robert Ryan, arguably the best projector of menace to ever appear on screen here plays an even more odious character than usual. James Mason, no stranger to menace himself, handling the upright fellow this time and being very dashing about it. Interesting to see Barbara Bel Geddes this early in her career and playing a character so different from her famous Miss Ellie. Well directed with heavy use of shadows really making even the large rooms of the mansion feel closed in and oppressive. Watch closely towards the beginning and you will see Barbara Billingsley as a customer in the department store.