I Wake Up Screaming (Fox Film Noir)
by H. Bruce Humberstone
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Betty Grable, Carole Landis, Laird Cregar, Victor Mature, William GarganDirector: H. Bruce Humberstone
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Edward Cronjager
Editor: Robert L. Simpson
Producer: Milton Sperling
Writer: Dwight Taylor
Writer: Steve Fisher
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Portuguese (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 82 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-06
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of I Wake Up Screaming (Fox Film Noir)
Movie Review: "I'll follow you into your grave. I'll write my name on your tombstone"
Summary: 5 Stars
The 1941 film I Wake Up Screaming reportedly set the standard for this type of noir thriller and the good news is that it gets everything right. Incorporating a perfect blend of noir elements and emphasizing the flashback story, the atmospheric lighting, and, most of all, the inherent moral ambiguities of the main protagonists, I Wake Up Screaming is a riveting suspense thriller from beginning to end.
The movie begins with as well-known New York sports promoter Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) is hauled down to the New York City police headquarters, a prime suspect in the murder of beautiful café waitress Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis) who Frankie has since helped become a flourishing model and prospective actress.
Of course, Frankie denies having anything to do with the crime but the massive detective squad commander Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar) is totally convinced if his guilt. Meanwhile, in the adjoining room, Vicky's sister Jill (Betty Grable) is also being questioned. She recently came to New York to stay with Vicky as a type of live-in maid and she was the first person to discover the body and saw Frankie standing over it.
As both Jill and Frankie recount their stories - in brilliantly edited flashbacks - we are introduced to a number of supporting suspects: There's a manipulative and self-serving journalist Larry Evans (Allyn Joslyn), aging actor Robin Ray (Alan Mowbray), and the creepy, sinister switchboard operator William Harrison (Elisha Cook Jr.) who works in Vicky's hotel and who packs Jill's luggage up without being asked.
Jill and Frankie are soon released. Jill just wants to forget the whole thing and move on, but Frankie pursues Jill, all the while maintaining his innocence. The two are drawn together in the course of trying to sort out their lives and the murder of Vicky, and Jill's eventual recognition that Frankie is capable of truly loving a woman, and not just exploiting her. The couple soon realizes that Cornell - who is unremittingly in hunt of his prey - must be framing Frankie for the murder. But did Frankie really murder Vicky and if he didn't, who did?
The plot takes lots of mysterious twists and turns and the noose seems to tighten around Frankie, as the anecdotal proof seems to pile up. Jill begins to fall in love with him - in one instance, she even helps him escape from the law, which threatens her safety and makes her an accessory to the crime - yet she's also plagued by uncertainty, she can never know for sure what the true motivation of Frankie really is.
Obviously, the real attraction of the movie is the wonderfully foreboding noir atmosphere, utilizing light and shadow to great effect, the director really manages to stretch as much as he can out of the dark goings on.
Betty Grable as Jill is quite a revelation in a dramatic role. Landis as Vicky is only briefly in the picture, but she makes a mark quickly and leaves a lasting impression, and Mature - an actor I don't normally like - is very imposing and impressive as Frankie, a desperate man on the run and fighting for his life. Mike Leonard July 06.
Summary of I Wake Up Screaming (Fox Film Noir)
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