It must have seemed like a good idea to reunite Joseph COTTEN and VALLI as co-stars in a darkly lit, low-key drama about a man who is a born loser, a lot like Uncle Charlie of "Shadow of a Doubt"--the kind of intense character that Cotten always seemed to play. And they were wonderful as the stars of "The Third Man".
But his intensity here is not quite as striking--in fact, he's so mellow that when he meets VALLI and decides he needs to use her to further his goal of being seen as an upright citizen in a small town, her melancholy bitterness and his restraint doesn't provide enough conflict to maintain interest.
Nor is it helpful that SPRING BYINGTON is her usual cheery self, totally charmed by the stranger in town who seems like such a nice, harmless guy who needs a good job. She and PAUL STEWART are effective enough in supporting roles, but nothing really helps. The script is dull, the characters lack chemistry and the denouement leaves the viewer unsatisfied with the whole thing.
Made before "The Third Man" but released a year or so later, it tried to capitalize on the names (Cotten and Valli), but was quickly relegated to the status of an A-film that looked more like a B and did nothing for their respective careers.
Summing up: Trivial film is easily forgotten--nothing new here and it's not film noir at all, as someone else has suggested.
But his intensity here is not quite as striking--in fact, he's so mellow that when he meets VALLI and decides he needs to use her to further his goal of being seen as an upright citizen in a small town, her melancholy bitterness and his restraint doesn't provide enough conflict to maintain interest.
Nor is it helpful that SPRING BYINGTON is her usual cheery self, totally charmed by the stranger in town who seems like such a nice, harmless guy who needs a good job. She and PAUL STEWART are effective enough in supporting roles, but nothing really helps. The script is dull, the characters lack chemistry and the denouement leaves the viewer unsatisfied with the whole thing.
Made before "The Third Man" but released a year or so later, it tried to capitalize on the names (Cotten and Valli), but was quickly relegated to the status of an A-film that looked more like a B and did nothing for their respective careers.
Summing up: Trivial film is easily forgotten--nothing new here and it's not film noir at all, as someone else has suggested.