This tense "woman-in-danger" thriller is a low budget offering from Ida Lupino and Collier Young's independent production company "The Filmmakers". Its brief running time and claustrophobic atmosphere contribute strongly to the intensity of the piece but its impressive visuals and the marvellous performances are what ultimately make it so enjoyable.
Howard Wilton (Robert Ryan), a handyman who never stays in one place too long, arrives at the small town boarding house run by teacher and war widow Helen Gordon (Ida Lupino) and is immediately hired to help clean the large property in readiness for the Christmas holiday. With no boarders currently in the house, Howard and Helen are alone in the place and it quickly becomes apparent that Howard's behaviour is a little unusual. He sees his previous dead employer's image in a bucket of water and anxiously asks for reassurance from Helen that his work is satisfactory. He works hard at cleaning the floors but is uncomfortable because he thinks Helen is always watching him.
Helen's flirtatious niece Ruth (Barbara Whiting) reacts badly when Howard doesn't appreciate her behaviour and taunts him for doing "a woman's job". This makes him furious and after she leaves he locks the doors of the house and keeps the keys in his pocket. He then becomes increasingly unstable and threatening as he effectively makes Helen his prisoner. His violent mood-swings become extreme and unpredictable and he also has alarming lapses of memory. On various occasions, he terrorises Helen in various ways including shutting her in the basement and threatening her with a pair of scissors. He even tries to kiss her after putting on her husband's military uniform-coat and tears the telephone lead out from the wall.
When Helen's nightmare finally comes to an end, it happens unexpectedly and in a way that's certainly not typical of this type of thriller.
Robert Ryan's facial expressions convey his character's anxiety, confusion and anger very convincingly and he's also similarly believable in showing how vulnerable, insecure and lonely Howard is at other times. Ida Lupino strikes a perfect balance in showing the combination of control and sheer terror that Helen experiences and in doing so, is very credible as an intelligent woman who tries to use different strategies to extricate herself from her ordeal.
The use of superimposed images seen during a train journey and in a bucket of water are very effective as are the use of mirror images (a favourite noir motif) to visually emphasis Howard's schizophrenia.
"Beware My Lovely" is typical of much of "The Filmmakers" work as its quality easily surpasses what would normally be expected of so modest a production.
Howard Wilton (Robert Ryan), a handyman who never stays in one place too long, arrives at the small town boarding house run by teacher and war widow Helen Gordon (Ida Lupino) and is immediately hired to help clean the large property in readiness for the Christmas holiday. With no boarders currently in the house, Howard and Helen are alone in the place and it quickly becomes apparent that Howard's behaviour is a little unusual. He sees his previous dead employer's image in a bucket of water and anxiously asks for reassurance from Helen that his work is satisfactory. He works hard at cleaning the floors but is uncomfortable because he thinks Helen is always watching him.
Helen's flirtatious niece Ruth (Barbara Whiting) reacts badly when Howard doesn't appreciate her behaviour and taunts him for doing "a woman's job". This makes him furious and after she leaves he locks the doors of the house and keeps the keys in his pocket. He then becomes increasingly unstable and threatening as he effectively makes Helen his prisoner. His violent mood-swings become extreme and unpredictable and he also has alarming lapses of memory. On various occasions, he terrorises Helen in various ways including shutting her in the basement and threatening her with a pair of scissors. He even tries to kiss her after putting on her husband's military uniform-coat and tears the telephone lead out from the wall.
When Helen's nightmare finally comes to an end, it happens unexpectedly and in a way that's certainly not typical of this type of thriller.
Robert Ryan's facial expressions convey his character's anxiety, confusion and anger very convincingly and he's also similarly believable in showing how vulnerable, insecure and lonely Howard is at other times. Ida Lupino strikes a perfect balance in showing the combination of control and sheer terror that Helen experiences and in doing so, is very credible as an intelligent woman who tries to use different strategies to extricate herself from her ordeal.
The use of superimposed images seen during a train journey and in a bucket of water are very effective as are the use of mirror images (a favourite noir motif) to visually emphasis Howard's schizophrenia.
"Beware My Lovely" is typical of much of "The Filmmakers" work as its quality easily surpasses what would normally be expected of so modest a production.