CAUSE FOR ALARM comes across as a TV programmer type of film that has all the earmarks of something made for television in the '50s--despite the fact that it was a theatrical release. Everything about it looks artificial, including the pristine neighborhood. You expect Ozzie and Harriet to appear any moment.
The drama itself is well played by LORETTA YOUNG and her paranoid hubby, BARRY SULLIVAN, who concocts a way to get her accused of killing him with the help of her doctor friend, of whom he is jealous. After his accidental death, every step Young takes is only going to make her look more guilty. Silliest of all is her scene with a by-the-book postman who won't return the letter to her after she chases him across town to catch up with him. The postman is played in his usual goofy manner by IRVING BACON.
But to give credit where it's due, Loretta handles the panicky situation with a convincing lack of poise while making all the missteps that almost land her in serious trouble with the law. The contrived ending gives the story a nice twist.
No more than a B-film, it owes a great deal to Young for making the impossible situations seem reasonable enough.
The drama itself is well played by LORETTA YOUNG and her paranoid hubby, BARRY SULLIVAN, who concocts a way to get her accused of killing him with the help of her doctor friend, of whom he is jealous. After his accidental death, every step Young takes is only going to make her look more guilty. Silliest of all is her scene with a by-the-book postman who won't return the letter to her after she chases him across town to catch up with him. The postman is played in his usual goofy manner by IRVING BACON.
But to give credit where it's due, Loretta handles the panicky situation with a convincing lack of poise while making all the missteps that almost land her in serious trouble with the law. The contrived ending gives the story a nice twist.
No more than a B-film, it owes a great deal to Young for making the impossible situations seem reasonable enough.