This is absolutely the first time ever after some twenty five hundred plus reviews on this board that I've been compelled to go with a 'half' vote. It's too good for my standard programmer rating of a six, but doesn't quite nail it as a seven. Since there's no rounding here, I'll have to drop it the half point.
No doubt about it, Hedy Lamarr is rather stunning here, even if over the hill by the era's standards at thirty four. The film maker added to the mystique with quite an extensive wardrobe throughout, masking those inner demons that threatened to destroy her character Madeleine Damien at any turn. I had to do a double take over that rather inventive car wreck to open the story; how did Miss Damien manage to shake off the effects of that after a brief encounter with Dr. Caleb (Morris Carnovsky)?
So with the juggling act going on here between Lamarr's character and her suitors, I wasn't expecting the murder mystery that occurs later in the story. Except that it's not really a mystery and Madeleine is conveniently set up to take the fall. The whole psychological angle presented by Doc Caleb was an interesting one considering the era, a time when good guesswork could have readily stood side by side with science. Caleb's pronouncements about Miss Damien's identity and commitment fit the story well, but it made me a little suspicious that Cousins (Dennis O'Keefe) could figure out Garet's (William Lundigan) murder of Courtland (John Loder) so easily. Aside from all that, it was just plain cool to see Natalie Schafer auditioning for the part of Mrs. Thurston Howell.
No doubt about it, Hedy Lamarr is rather stunning here, even if over the hill by the era's standards at thirty four. The film maker added to the mystique with quite an extensive wardrobe throughout, masking those inner demons that threatened to destroy her character Madeleine Damien at any turn. I had to do a double take over that rather inventive car wreck to open the story; how did Miss Damien manage to shake off the effects of that after a brief encounter with Dr. Caleb (Morris Carnovsky)?
So with the juggling act going on here between Lamarr's character and her suitors, I wasn't expecting the murder mystery that occurs later in the story. Except that it's not really a mystery and Madeleine is conveniently set up to take the fall. The whole psychological angle presented by Doc Caleb was an interesting one considering the era, a time when good guesswork could have readily stood side by side with science. Caleb's pronouncements about Miss Damien's identity and commitment fit the story well, but it made me a little suspicious that Cousins (Dennis O'Keefe) could figure out Garet's (William Lundigan) murder of Courtland (John Loder) so easily. Aside from all that, it was just plain cool to see Natalie Schafer auditioning for the part of Mrs. Thurston Howell.