Good concept, poorly executed.

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

To begin with - (Unless I missed something while I was repeatedly nodding off) - No one.... I repeat.... No one in this WTF-film ever woke up screaming, ever. Nope. They sure didn't.And, let me tell ya - I kinda wish that someone had done some serious screaming in this "Noir" rubbish-film - 'Cause this picture really needed something (anything) to wake its dreary story (and me) up.And, speaking about the prevalence of police harassment and Gestapo-style interrogation taken by the NYPD throughout the story-line - This demented "Noir" dud certainly brought all of that business right down to the level of laughably preposterous absurdity in no time flat.(You really gotta see this utter-nonsense movie to know what I'm talking about here)Anyway - The only people who I would ever recommend this asinine picture to would be those who I had absolutely no respect for, whatsoever.

Quite a few reviewers complain that the title bears no connection with the screen play. As One reviewer wrote "It makes the film sound like a cheap horror film". A agree with these assessments. I suspect it was chosen as suggesting an enticing murder mystery: which it is.. .Several reviewers also question the appropriateness of "Over the Rainbow", as a frequent background song for a film noir. The lyrics(not included) emphasize a dream of a more exciting life. This certainly applied to Vicky(Carol Landis): the murdered girl, after she was encouraged to try becoming a glamour girl. Perhaps less obviously, it can apply to sister Jill(Betty Hutton) and promoter Frankie(Victor Mature) with regard to their growing relationship. It might even apply to the psychopathic police detective Cornell(Laird Cregar), who dreamed of marrying Vicki. Speaking of music, Carol gets to sing "The things I Love", whereas Betty's song: "Daddy" was deleted, but can be seen at YouTube.The cat and mouse game between Frankie and police detective Cornell constitutes the heart of the drama, along with identifying the killer. We learn that Cornell has 2 related obsessions: 1)marrying an unglamorized Vicki 2)pinning her murder on Frankie, who promoted her as a potential glamour girl, even though Cornell knows the identity of the real killer. Frankie and Jill have to discover the identity of the real killer for themselves. They got a confession out of a suspected killer by having Jill mimic over the telephone the voice of the supposed deceased Vicki. This freaks out the murderer, and Frankie, with some encouragement, gets a confession out of him(very unlikely).It's interesting that Vicky claimed that Jill was in love with Frankie. They both denied it, but later events would prove her right. Later, Frankie told Jill he didn't love Vicky, he just wanted to promote her new ambition to become a glamour girl, instead of only a waitress. Again, I don't believe that, because he was mighty upset when she said she was leaving for Hollywood. Seems like all the men loved her, and were upset that she was leaving. There was an odd episode where Jill was moving out of the apartment she had shared with Vicky. When she arrived home from work to pack her things, she was astonished to find that the front desk person had already packed them and had her suitcases ready to put in the taxi! I'm surprised she wasn't more angry. I can only assume that he wanted her gone as soon as possible for whatever reason. There are various other weird or improbable happenings, some of which are detailed by another reviewer. But, it's unusual not to have a few of these in this kind of film. For Carol Landis and Betty, this was a reunion, having costarred earlier in 1941 in the romantic musical "Moon Over Miami"....Neither Carol nor Cregar would live many more years. Cregar would die from complications from his crash diet, to try to change his image from a heavy heavy....Carol would nearly die of several tropical diseases while entertaining the troops overseas, never fully recovering her health. The remainder of her short life reads much like that of Marilyn Monroe in her later years. She had numerous short marriages and affairs, but was unable to complete a pregnancy due to endometriosis. With her film carrier in limbo, and in debt, Rex Harrison's ending of their affair was the last straw, and she finally succeeded in killing herself, after several failed attempts. The B&W copy shown at YouTube is in excellent condition. Also , available as a DVD or Blue Ray.

'I Wake Up Screaming' came out around the time 'The Maltese Falcon', which is considered the first true film noir. 'Screaming' has some noirish elements including some dark lighting, a femme fatale of sorts and a man falsely accused of murder but it can't make up its mind whether its appeal is slanted toward the lover of a good mystery or romance. Indeed, the occasionally insufferable soundtrack features one too many tidbits of 'Over the Rainbow', occasionally ruining the dark atmosphere of menace that a true film noir should engender.'I Wake Up Screaming' disappoints on many levels. First there's the murder victim herself, Vicky Lynn (played by Carole Landis, who tragically took her own life approximately seven years after this film's first release). Vicky is a waitress turned would-be actress, after being discovered by sports promoter, Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature). One wonders why these high society types (who are friends of Christopher), fall head over heels for the unconnected Vicky, who has nothing to offer except maybe her looks. The way they fawn over this unproven neophyte is truly embarrassing. Not all actresses at that time got ahead simply because of their looks—there was something also called 'personality' but unfortunately the films' scenarists here chose to present the requisite go-getter as a generic bimbo. Maybe this is the reason why Vicky's sister, Jill (Betty Grable), along with Christopher, fail to emote when they learn of Vicky's murder. Yes, this bothered me but then again, when you intentionally create such generic characters, it stands to follow that real emotions will invariably not end up on display. I also found Victor Mature to be hopelessly miscast as Christopher, who should be a more hardened, streetwise character. Mature is simply too much of a 'nice guy' to play a tough guy sports promoter. Betty Grable is more fitting as the goody two shoes sister but too much time is taken up with Grable and Mature canoodling, and taking us away from the aforementioned atmosphere of dread (it should be noted that the DVD extras feature a song that Grable sings that was cut from the final print; that only goes to show the mindset of the films' producers before they decided to turn 'I Wake Up Screaming' into something a tad bit more grittier).The 'Screaming' plot is really nothing to write home about. Yes there's a nice little twist when Jill recognizes creepy Detective Ed Cornell (menacingly and finely played by Laird Cregar who also met a sad demise at an early age), as the guy who had stalked Vicky earlier, while she was working as a waitress. Cornell is the bad cop who breaks into Christopher's apartment, misappropriates evidence without a warrant and ultimately still attempts to arrest Christopher, even though he has already obtained a confession from the real killer. We get the idea early on that Cornell is both a bad guy and pushy to boot but things really fall apart at the climax when it's revealed he's a pathetic sad sack stalker, who has pictures of Vicky plastered all over his apartment. Instead of killing Christopher (which of course would not have worked well for a 1941 audience but would have been a better ending today—I'm thinking of John Houston in 'Chinatown', the real bad guy pedophile who gets away with it), Cornell, sheepishly and pathetically, takes his own life.The real killer turns out to be a big let down: Harry Williams, the bellhop, whose obsession with Vicky was even worse than Cornell's (Elisha Cook Jr. provides the proper histrionics, as the noted 'B' actor was always good at playing neurotics and petty criminals).Oh yes, there are two other characters, an over the hill actor and cynical Broadway columnist, who are the 'red herrings' designed to distract you from figuring out who the real killer is. Again, when we do find out that Harry Williams did Vicky in, he just seems so tangential to the main story, as if it were an aside in a play (also, please clue me in how the police can call Harry a "suspect", simply because he went missing for a day or two—later they discover the was visiting relatives in Brooklyn, and have to let him go). The 'I Wake Up Screaming' denouement is wholly appropriate, as we find the two lovebirds, Jill and Christopher, once again canoodling in the 'ritzy' night club which both sisters found so exciting. The lightweight ending might be good for the family friendly aficionados who dig the happy endings and the silly romance, but film noir has clearly taken a back seat, in this puppy love, pseudo-thriller.

It was the dynamic title that drove me to this oddity. Then there was also the cast, Betty Grable in a noir drama? She's very pleasing in her early strait role (was that magnificent blond hair truly real?) Victor Mature demonstrates his increasingly nervous discomfort throughout the progress of this story via his iconic facial expressions, belying his characters over-confident exterior. The cause of this discomfort comes in the form of a creepy Laid Cregar, a strange detective who is determined to nail Mature for a serious crime. An interesting scene has him wake to the sense of an ominous presence in his apartment that would have had me screaming too - I can't too readily recall another actor that could signal fear, with just one instant facial expression.Carole Landis, who tragically took her own life at only 29, following a scandalous affair with married philanderer Rex Harrison, is OK in the part of Grable's sister. With so many others in the support cast also being noteworthy, this just had to be seen.The Director; Bruce Humberstone, whom I had associated more with comedies, musicals, and outdoor actioners (Tazan and westerns) seems to be in his element with this fast moving crime story by prolific writer; Steve Fisher ("Lady in the Lake" '46) Good one liners come rapidly and often.It gets off to a cracking opening with striking sets by multi award winning Thomas Little; "Grapes of Wrath" '40 ~ "Razors Edge" '46 ~ Viva Zapata" '52. With Art Direction by two up and coming directors, Richard Day, and Nathan Juran. Another veteran, Director of Photography; Edward Cronjager, "Roberta" '35 ~ "House by the River" '50 ~ "Relentless" '48 ~ "Beneath the 12 mile Reef" '53, all combine to assure this film a stylish look and feel.It may not always work as well as you might like, but it keeps you watching and guessing to the end. The biggest draw back for me was the musical direction by English born Cyril J. Mockridge. He must have been given only a few days to prepare a score and I don't think he wrote a note of original music. Instead, he uses music tracks from the library of popular standards. The best of these is Alfred Newman's "Street Scene" put to good use under the opening credits. Another is Harold Arlen's immortal "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Both these melodies keep popping up at the most unnecessary moments during the story, so much so, that by the time the end title arrives you may well wake up screaming too...Not great, but still good entertainment.