Lack of good storyline.

Am I Missing Something?

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

There's this myth that film noirs were oh, so sophisticated and intelligently written. The truth is that most of them were stupid, insipid and implausible, with ridiculous plots that stretched credulity. (Go on. Just try to clearly explain the plot of D.O.A. without your mind twisting into knots. I dare you!)If film noirs were incredulous, why are they so celebrated? Because many of their directors were so good, they knew how to sell a premise, no matter how far fetched. Sudden Fear is one of those noirs that was ridiculous on one hand and yet great on the other. The story couldn't be more absurd. Joan Crawford plays a middle aged newlywed who hooks herself a young buck. The problem is that he turns out to be a grifter planning to kill her for the money and split it with his girlfriend. All Crawford has to do is pack her bags and leave but film noirs being what they are, she does the most unrealistic and stupidest thing a person could ever do in a situation like this. She decides to carry out a revenge scheme instead.Does it matter? No. Because Sudden Fear is directed with such flair, you're able to suspend disbelief and buy the premise, no matter how ridiculous. Even if you're rolling your eyes the entire time, the movie will have you entertained and in some cases, on the edge of your seat. There is an amazing sequence that plays out for several minutes and involves a closet and a clockwork toy. It is filled with so much suspense, I'm amazed that it hasn't been cribbed by other directors. It's the type of sequence that Hitchcock would've envied. It's that good. So, I can't recommend this movie enough. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it's incredibly entertaining and resourceful.

The wealthy playwright Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) is the heiress of a great fortune. However she works and is donating part of her inheritance to foundations. When she watches the rehearsal of her play, she asks the director to replace the lead actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) that she believes is not adequate for the lead role. When she returns home, she meets Blane in the same train and they travel together. They stop in Chicago and soon Myra is seduced by him. They get married and live at Myra's home in San Francisco. Myra summons her lawyer Steve Kearney (Bruce Bennett) to change her will and transfer her fortune and properties to her beloved husband. She uses her Dictaphone to record the changes to be done in her will. However Steve will travel with his son Junior Kearney (Touch Conners) to Sacramento and they leave the room. Then Blaine and Junior's girlfriend Irene Neves (Gloria Grahame), who is his lover, come to the room to plot a scheme to kill Myra so that he will be the heir of her fortune. On the next morning, Myra learns that she has forgotten her Dictaphone on and when she will proceed to dictate her new will, she hears the conversation of her husband with Irene. What will she do now that she knows what are Blaine's real feelings and intention? "Sudden Fear" is a suspenseful film-noir with excellent first half. The story of a wealthy spinster seduced by a crook is great until the moment that the lead character learns that he husband and his mistress are plotting to murder her. Her plan to save her life and get rid of them is also great. However her clumsy and moralist attitudes are terrible and reduces what could have been a little masterpiece to a good film-noir only. Joan Crawford has another magnificent performance. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Precipícios d'Alma" ("Precipices of the Soul")

Predating Hitchcocks Vertigo by 6 Years, this movie is an RKO production with a very good cast that has some scenes which are choppy. In a way, there are several irony's here which are legend. Supposed Joan Crawford wanted Clark Gable for Jack Palances role. Gable claimed he was too old for this role. David Miller, who directed this is said to have convinced Crawford to cast Palance. If this is so, the first scene is a reflection of real life where Crawford is not happy with Palance rehearsing her new play and fires him. Legend has it that Crawford then becomes interested (in real life) with Palance but in real life he was having an affair with co- star Gloria Grahame. If this is true, it might be why Gloria divorced in 1952, but her next spouse was not Palance. (Grahame would have 4 spouses in real life.)Early on the film has some things that will remind the viewer of Hitchcock. The use of a stair case early on and then the film moving from the east, through Chicago by train and then relocating for most of the film to San Francisco. The golden gate bridge and the hilly streets of the Golden Gate city are featured throughout the film from this point.At first, it seems Palances character is just out for revenge for being fired. Then it gets more complicated. Edna Sherry who wrote the novel only has one other film to her credit as a writer, 1929 Thru Different Eyes which has little information about it other than the cast on IMDb featuring Warner Baxter.The atmosphere in Sudden Fear is very much like a film noir, the glorious dark black and white which is nothing like Hitchcocks glorious color Vertigo, but you have to remember this is an independent production company releasing through RKO who in 1952 was nearing it's end and of being sold to Lucy and Desi. The film is ambitious and clever but the budget here must have been quite tight which might account for some choppy scenes.A viewer who has watched the TV series Mannix will recognize a young Mike Connors in this in a supporting role as a love interest for Gloria Grahame along with Palance and he is also a friend of Crawfords character which makes for some lively scripting.There is a well staged chase sequence in the latter part of the film. Overall a film that could have been better but falls a little short of classic noir, and way short of Hitchcock's Vertigo though the suspense of Crawfords character can pull the viewer in along with the plot and counter-plot aspects of the main characters.This recently premiered on Turner Classic Movies.

A slick little thriller from 1952 that showcases Joan Crawford's ability to carry a movie. She starred in a lot of high-quality stuff (like "Mildred Pierce" for example) that any actress would have shined in, but it's when she landed in more middle-of-the-road material that she was able to illustrate her star wattage, because not just any old actress could take a movie like "Sudden Fear" and make something memorable out of it.In this one, Crawford is a playwright and reluctant heiress who decides the actor chosen for the lead in her new drama (Jack Palance, darkly but disturbingly handsome) isn't right after all and has him booted. He meets up with her a few months later and lets her know there are no hard feelings. Indeed, not only aren't there any hard feelings, but the two end up getting married after a whirlwind romance. Only after they're married do we find out that Palance is unsurprisingly a creep and that he and his jilted ex-wife (or current wife, I'm foggy on that point), played with bad-girl relish by Gloria Grahame, have designs on getting their hands on Crawford's dough. Let the plotting begin.The twist in this one is that Crawford finds out about their plan without them knowing, and proves herself to be a sharp cookie in hatching a counter plot to save her skin. It's quite refreshing to see her take matters into her own hands rather than simper and quail waiting for someone else to save her. The ending, a chase through the dark streets of San Francisco, is a bit of a mess, but by then you've had so much fun with the movie and Crawford has won you over with her ballsiness that you don't much care.Crawford received her third and final Academy Award nomination for her performance, and Jack Palance was nominated in the supporting category as well. Perennial Oscar nominee Charles Lang won his 9th of an eventual 18 career nominations for using shadows to make the most out of San Francisco's murky streets and Jack Palance's razor sharp cheekbones. And Sheila O'Brien landed the last of the film's quartet of nominations for designing Crawford's elegant black and white gowns."Sudden Fear" is a treat for film noir lovers, Joan Crawford lovers, San Francisco lovers, suspense thriller lovers, or anyone who just loves a good old fashioned entertaining movie.Grade: A-