Even Judged by film noir standards, "Nightmare Alley" is irredeemably bleak. Its story involves scams, swindles, deceptions and betrayals as well as the ruthless exploitation of people who are either gullible, vulnerable or simply unwitting victims of treachery practised by those in whom they'd placed their trust. The central character's elevation from being a charismatic opportunist in a carnival to being a sophisticated nightclub mentalist is fascinating to watch but his inability to recognise his own limitations leads inevitably to the movie's most tragic and uncomfortable scenes.
Stan Carlisle (Tyrone Power) is a drifter who joins the carnival and quickly becomes interested in the mind reading act performed by Zeena Krumbein (Joan Blondell). He soon gets a job as her assistant and gets to know her alcoholic husband Pete (Ian Keith). Pete's predicament had been brought on by Zeena's past indiscretions and his level of degradation is only surpassed by that of the carnival "geek" (a debased human being who bites the heads off live chickens for the price of a bottle a day and somewhere to sleep it off).
Stan finds out from Molly (Coleen Gray), who is the assistant to the carnival strongman that Zeena and Pete used to be a top of the bill act in vaudeville and that their success was achieved by using an intricate word code. He subsequently charms Zeena into teaching him the code and later seduces Molly.
Stan and Molly leave the carnival and find great success with their new act in an exclusive venue in Chicago. During one of their performances a psychologist called Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker) tries to trick them by asking a question about her mother but is both surprised and impressed when Stan accurately replies that her mother is deceased. Stan and Lileth meet some time later in her office and when he realises that she routinely records the confidential information disclosed by her wealthy clients, sees an opportunity to use this material to move into a new role as a spiritualist.
Lileth, Stan and Molly subsequently conspire together to carry out an elaborate and potentially very lucrative stunt but when Molly becomes uncomfortable with the religious style which Stan adopts, she exposes the fraud. Stan is also then betrayed and swindled by Lilith. This sudden financial loss and the loss of his reputation combined with some feelings of guilt that he'd been harbouring for some time, ultimately bring about his spectacular and tragic downfall.
"Nightmare Alley" was not a box office success when it was first released and the cult status that it's since gained was due to the fact that a legal dispute over distribution rights led to it being unavailable for many years. This is a shame because it's a movie that deserves recognition on its own merits, Its story is engrossing and the portrayals of its colourful characters are top class. Tyrone Power is exceptional as the selfish conman who discovers that by using his considerable charm he's easily able to exploit others for his own gain. Coleen Gray is thoroughly believable as the unsophisticated and likable Molly and Ian Keith and Joan Blondell also contribute great performances. The most chilling characterisation, however, is provided by Helen Walker who is absolutely convincing as one of the coldest, most calculating and inherently evil women ever seen on screen. The low key lighting used by cinematographer Lee Garmes also perfectly matches the downbeat mood of the film and contributes strongly to its haunting atmosphere.
Stan Carlisle (Tyrone Power) is a drifter who joins the carnival and quickly becomes interested in the mind reading act performed by Zeena Krumbein (Joan Blondell). He soon gets a job as her assistant and gets to know her alcoholic husband Pete (Ian Keith). Pete's predicament had been brought on by Zeena's past indiscretions and his level of degradation is only surpassed by that of the carnival "geek" (a debased human being who bites the heads off live chickens for the price of a bottle a day and somewhere to sleep it off).
Stan finds out from Molly (Coleen Gray), who is the assistant to the carnival strongman that Zeena and Pete used to be a top of the bill act in vaudeville and that their success was achieved by using an intricate word code. He subsequently charms Zeena into teaching him the code and later seduces Molly.
Stan and Molly leave the carnival and find great success with their new act in an exclusive venue in Chicago. During one of their performances a psychologist called Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker) tries to trick them by asking a question about her mother but is both surprised and impressed when Stan accurately replies that her mother is deceased. Stan and Lileth meet some time later in her office and when he realises that she routinely records the confidential information disclosed by her wealthy clients, sees an opportunity to use this material to move into a new role as a spiritualist.
Lileth, Stan and Molly subsequently conspire together to carry out an elaborate and potentially very lucrative stunt but when Molly becomes uncomfortable with the religious style which Stan adopts, she exposes the fraud. Stan is also then betrayed and swindled by Lilith. This sudden financial loss and the loss of his reputation combined with some feelings of guilt that he'd been harbouring for some time, ultimately bring about his spectacular and tragic downfall.
"Nightmare Alley" was not a box office success when it was first released and the cult status that it's since gained was due to the fact that a legal dispute over distribution rights led to it being unavailable for many years. This is a shame because it's a movie that deserves recognition on its own merits, Its story is engrossing and the portrayals of its colourful characters are top class. Tyrone Power is exceptional as the selfish conman who discovers that by using his considerable charm he's easily able to exploit others for his own gain. Coleen Gray is thoroughly believable as the unsophisticated and likable Molly and Ian Keith and Joan Blondell also contribute great performances. The most chilling characterisation, however, is provided by Helen Walker who is absolutely convincing as one of the coldest, most calculating and inherently evil women ever seen on screen. The low key lighting used by cinematographer Lee Garmes also perfectly matches the downbeat mood of the film and contributes strongly to its haunting atmosphere.