From my favorite movies..

Don't Believe the Hype

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Although Franchot Tone does not appear in the film for the first half he rates top billing in Phantom Lady. I'm sure that when he signed for this film he saw he would be playing a part that was different than the roles he got a MGM for the most part.Ella Raines is the one that carries this film. Her boss and Tone's partner Alan Curtis has been arrested for his wife's murder. She was no loss, from what we learn of her she was cheating right and left. Still murder is murder. And Curtis's problem is the woman he picked up that night has vanished. She's his alibi witness. Like she was a Phantom Lady.Even after the conviction Raines is determined to find this woman and she even has an ally in police detective Thomas Gomez who has never felt right about the case.There's not much suspense and there sure is no mystery here because it isn't hard to figure out and the murderer is identified with 60% of the film done. The suspense is whether Raines can put it together and realize the danger she's walking into.Besides those already mentioned look for good performances from Elisha Cook, Jr. as a hop head drummer, Aurora Miranda, Carmen's sister playing a Carmen Miranda like entertainer. In fact her outrageous hat like the ones her sister wore is an integral part of the mystery for Raines. Finally there is a really touching performance from Fay Helm in the title role. There is a sad reason why she has seemingly disappeared.Between this one and Tall In The Saddle with John Wayne I think are Ella Raines's career roles. Both are very good.

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie after reading all the positive reviews- have seen most film noirs and they are a favourite genre of mine- however fairly disappointed after watching this one- we are expected to believe that Franchot Tone's character, Jack Marlowe, murdered his best friends wife at 8 o'clock in the evening- hopped on the ship that was taking him down to South America within half an hour, got off without anyone seeing him- managed to locate Alan Curtis' character, Scott in a New York bar- follow him all evening with the lady he just happens to meet- then bribe all the people who saw this woman with $500 each to say they had never seen her! There are too many coincidences and belief is suspended just too many times for me to give this more than 5 out of 10. pluses for the movie are the lovely Ella Raines as Scott's faithful assistant and the dark New York jazz bar nightlife which creates a great film noir feel- shame the story is a little bit of a letdown.

The wired jazz scene with Elisha Cook banging away at the mad drums is worth the whole movie. Plus, there's Ella Raines, looking lovelier than ever. This movie must have really disturbed 1944 audiences. There's a psycho murdering sculptor with strong hands and a fatal weakness. There's fat nasty policemen who breathe down everyone's necks. There's Aurora Miranda trying to steal sister Carmen's act. There's lots of sweating in the August swelter of New York. There's plenty of bad acting and bad dialogue. But, there are also some really unusual shots of street scenes during the long sequence in which Ella pursues the bartender to his death. Strong stuff, indeed. And, did I mention there's Ella Raines looking lovelier than ever? I think I'm in love.

Phantom Lady is directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted to screenplay by Bernard C. Schoenfeld from the story written by Cornell Woolrich (pseudonym William Irish). It stars Ella Raines, Franchot Tone, Alan Curtis, Thomas Gomez, Elisha Cook Jr and Fay Helm. Music is by Hans J. Salter and cinematography by Woody Bredell.Out drowning his sorrows, Scott Henderson (Curtis) meets an equally unhappy woman in a bar, agreeing to her request to not exchange names, but to merely enjoy each others company, Henderson takes her to a show. Upon returning home Henderson finds his wife has been strangled and he is arrested as the prime suspect for the murder. When he frantically tries to prove he has an alibi by way of the "phanton lady" he spent the evening with, he comes up against a wall of silence with nobody able to prove he was with anybody. The electric chair awaits unless someone can prove his alibi. Enter Henderson's intrepid secretary Kansas Richman, who not only carries a torch for her boss, but appears to be his only hope of proving his innocence...An important film in the film noir cycle given that its success kicked opened further the American doorway for German director Robert Siodmak (The Killers); something that all fellow film noir fans are eternally grateful for. Often cited as a top draw noir or one of the best from the early 40s output, it's a frustrating experience in many ways. Undeniably the middle third is an absolute visual treasure, where Siodmak and Bredell (also The Killers) craft the essential film noir style with highly detailed shadows and lighting gaining maximum atmospheric impact. An extended sequence that sees the wonderful Raines (Impact) stalk a witness through dark and dank streets to a subway station is clinical in its photographic brilliance. I love the quote from Bredell where he said that after being coached by Siodmak he felt he could light a football pitch with only a match! This middle third of Phantom Lady is the meeting of two visual minds and it's a class combination.Elsewhere Siodmak emphasises objects and weird art to keep his world off kilter, while a key character's obsession with his hands also keeps things simmering in the realm of the strange. There's also a "famed" suggestive sex scene as Elisha Cook Jr (as always, memorable) pounds his drum kit to a climax as Raines positively smoulders in front of him. All of these things are set to the backdrop of a ticking clock format, where the innocent Henderson's life hangs in the balance. These are all film noir traits and executed with such skill it hides the fact that the film is primarily studio bound, in fact this can be seen as a marker for how to do "studio noir" effectively.Unfortunately there is good reason why Phantom Lady is divisive in film noir circles. The dialogue is often plain daft, almost as daft as the plot itself. The murderer is revealed at the mid point and therefore we are robbed of the mystery element and sadly it sign posts the finale as being obvious and disappointing. Plot in the final third puts our heroine in constant danger at the hands of the real murderer, suspense is meant to be wrung out, but it never hits home the way it should. While on the acting front Curtis is too stiff to really make a telling innocent man hanging by a thread character and Tone is equally as flat in a critical role. However, do these things stop Phantom Lady from being a great film? No, I don't think so, there's just too much good in the mix to stop it from deserving some of the (admittedly exaggerated) praise put its way. 7.5/10