Sudden Fear
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Movie Reviews of Sudden Fear
Movie Review: Sloppy DVD Transfer of Joan Crawford Gem
Summary: 4 Stars
Before I begin my review of 'Sudden Fear' in earnest, I have to point out that this is a really poor transfer to DVD of a 1950's noir classic. Movies like 'Mildred Pierce' and 'The Women' are much older films, but of a far better picture and sound quality. That said, it's a good thing that this is finally available on DVD, while other Crawford classics like 'Flamingo Road' are still languishing in the Vault someplace.
Now, on with the review. Joan plays Myra Hudson, the successful and wealthy San Francisco playwright, who, after having fired him from her latest hit production, falls in love with and marries an actor named Lester Blaine (Jack Palance). Against all sense and reason, Myra attempts to change her will to leave him with everything, but an overheard conversation between the conniving, unfaithful Lester and his scheming girlfriend Irene (Gloria Grahame) forces her to think very differently. A shocking climax ensues.
Made in 1952, this is Joan's first independent picture, (for RKO Pictures) and revived a flagging career. What we see here is what I like to refer to as Middle-Era Joan, being neither the ultra-glamorous 1940's Joan of 'Mildred Pierce' and 'The Women', nor the screechy, scary Joan of 'Baby Jane' and 'Strait-Jacket'. She turns in a classic Crawford performance as the hapless Myra, full of facial tremblings and overpronunciation. She's excellent as the Victim, but this is perhaps her best performance in a film outside of 'Mildred Pierce' and 'Flamingo Road'. She is touching in the love scenes, and tense and compelling in the suspense scenes. What's also remarkable is the fact that she plays the part of the older-but-none-the-wiser Myra with such honesty, instead of trying to make this on-the-shelf spinster any younger than the script allows.
Jack Palance is excellent, too, as the duplicitous Lester. He's loving and warm with his wife, but menacing and hateful in the private moments with Irene. His face is hypnotic, sometimes it's difficult to watch anything else on the screen, but he does an brilliant job with a character who swings between two extreme poles of emotion.
Gloria Grahame is simply astonishing in her role as Irene Neves. She is cold, manipulating and possesses a strange kind of open-mouthed blatant sexuality that makes her wholly believable as the Mistress. She pouts, schemes and demands her way into the picture, and her performance in what is essentially a supporting role easily stands up to heavyweights like Crawford and Palance.
Direction by David Miller is somewhat experimental for the period, but excellent. The darkness and angles used in lighting the piece gives a real sense of the noir, and the long one-shot scenes add a huge sense of tension and fear.
The ending of the movie is slightly contrived, and a little quick, but we are still left with a tense psychological thriller that stands up today as a fine example of film-making. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Rival Murder Plots Keep Us Guessing & Build Suspense.
Summary: 4 Stars
"Sudden Fear" falls in the category of female melodrama film noir, a sub-genre which Joan Crawford dominated. Based on Edna Sherry's story of the same name, this is an entertaining film, but not up to the standard of Crawford's other film noirs: "Possessed", "Mildred Pierce", and "The Damned Don't Cry". Crawford plays playwright and heiress Myra Hudson, who refuses to cast actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) in her new play, because he doesn't look romantic enough. Traveling from New York to her home in San Francisco by train, she meets Lester Blaine again. This time, she finds him very attractive, indeed, and falls in love. When Lester employs emotional blackmail to get Myra to marry him, she happily agrees, and is thrilled to be his wife. But unbeknownst to Myra, Lester's old girlfriend Irene Neves (Gloria Grahame) has arrived in town expecting money. When Myra inadvertently uncovers plans by Lester and Irene to murder her, she is devastated and terrified. Then she starts plotting.
"Sudden Fear" is a film that takes its time. It's not plodding, but there are a lot of scenes that aren't strictly necessary but give Joan Crawford more screen time. The "sudden fear'" of the title must refer to Myra's reaction when she discovers her life is in danger from the very man whom she would be willing to sacrifice it for. She is frantic, paralyzed with fear, almost to the point of mania. But this isn't one of Joan Crawford's more convincing emotional states -not in this film, anyway. Of course, Myra doesn't do the sensible thing and go to the police. Crawford's performance regains credibility with Myra's duplicity as she plots revenge. Jack Palance does a nice job of a two- or three-faced Lester Blaine. He is at first a passionate and thoughtful actor, then a docile and dutiful husband. It's a little shocking when he is suddenly quite brutal. Jack Palance gives the stand-out performance and holds his own well against Crawford's undeniable screen presence. All in all, "Sudden Fear" is an entertaining suspense film that stays unpredictable until the end.
The DVD (refers to the Kino Video 2001 disc only) This print of the film has some occasional specks and spots, and the grays are grainy, but no serious flaws. The print is acceptable but unrestored. No bonus features or subtitles.
Movie Review: One of Joan Crawford's best roles....
Summary: 4 Stars
Not many fans of Joan Crawford are familiar with this film, but they should be. Attractive San Francisco location shooting and a superb supporting cast featuring Jack Palance, Mike (`Touch") Conners, and Gloria Grahame, raise the bar of this exciting, nail biter noir classic, despite a rather simple and familiar plot. What's fascinating about the film is how director David Miller takes a familiar plot and presents the drama within it in a most entertaining and absorbing fashion. Crawford plays a successful San Francisco heiress/playwright, Myra Hudson, who falls for Lester Blaine (Palance), an actor who unsuccessfully auditioned for one of her plays. They eventually meet on a train back to San Francisco and after a whirlwind courtship, the two eventually get married, but after a few months into the marriage, Myra later catches on that Lester and his old flame, Irene (Grahame), intend to kill her so he can inherit her fortune.
Note Director David Miller's brilliant cinematography--how he effectively telegraphs the use of ordinary objects--an initialed handkerchief, a key, a Dictaphone machine (even a small clockwork mechanical dog!), and his successful use of dissolves, light and shadow, and mise-en-scene to convey the terror and fear that not only registers on Crawford's expressive face within the frame, but is carried thru an entire scene. In this film, Crawford perhaps most successfully exhibits the strong, yet vulnerable characters she made a long career out of playing. Although the intended victim of a nefarious plot to take her life and her fortune, we see how Crawford's Myra Hudson consciously and methodically intends to turn the tables on her unfaithful paramour and his lover just as if she writing a plot synopsis outline for one of her plays.
This was Palance's first "starring" role after his smallish role in the classic "Panic in the Streets" with Richard Widmark. He admirably conveys both the aura of vulnerability and deceit necessary to charm Crawford's character into believing he is her doting, loving husband. While this is not in the same league as, say, "Mildred Pierce," it should be considered as one of Crawford's better films and, as it stands, it is a superlative achievement in film noir.
Movie Review: Trio of Oscar winners star in a well-paced thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
"Sudden Fear" is a suspense classic from 1952: an enjoyable, tightly written, well-paced thriller starring a trio of past, present, and future Oscar winners: the incomparable Joan Crawford (Best Actress, 1945, "Mildred Pierce"); a young Jack Palance (Best Supporting Actor, 1991, "City Slickers" - remember the push ups?) and Gloria Grahame, who won Best Supporting Actress for another 1952 film, "The Bad and the Beautiful."
Crawford portrays a playwright who, in the movie's first scene, gets Palance fired from her play for not looking like a traditional leading man. Palance storms off in anger, but later meets up with Crawford on a train and - irony of ironies - manages to seduce her. They engage in a whirlwind romance, get married, and move into her San Francisco home. All seems to be going smashingly, until... well, I can't say more without giving too much away!
Crawford is a natural fit for the role. She gets to suffer the way she did in "Mildred Pierce" (albeit a tad more histrionically), and earned her third and final Oscar nomination in the process. Palance demonstrates surprising dramatic range, and Grahame shows up in the tough-as-nails femme fatale role she would go on to perfect in the following year's "The Big Heat."
The film is more noir in tone and style than in milieu. Director David Miller makes effective use of light and shadow, and the San Francisco locations add local flavor to the film. The late, great composer Elmer Bernstein contributes an evocative score.
Many have rightly complained about the DVD transfer; it certainly is fuzzy in spots, though for the most part watchable. A lower price tag would be more appropriate for this edition.
"Sudden Fear" isn't the most original thriller of its era, but it's skillfully done. While somewhat manipulative and predictable, "Sudden Fear" generates enough authentic suspense to satisfy the classic movie buff.
Movie Review: Joan Crawford Triumphs Again
Summary: 4 Stars
Once I finally broke down and bought a DVD player, I thought the only possible way to break it in was with an unfamiliar film by my beloved Joan Crawford, 1952's Sudden Fear. The film is a real thriller, sort of a higher-class film noir forerunner of some of the more exciting horror films she made in the 1960s (Strait-Jacket and Berserk come to mind; I won't watch Baby Jane because I can't stand to see Joan be mistreated).Joan is magnificent as a wealthy heiress/playwright who becomes the target of a murder plot by her actor husband (Jack Palance) and his girlfriend (Gloria Grahame, whose scene-stealing performance is almost worth the price of the film). Joan becomes privy to the murder plan thanks to the advanced electronic technology in her San Francisco mansion. Always the playwright, she uses her plot-devising skills to foil the murder attempt, but backs out at the last second from carrying out her plan. We do however at least get the satisfaction of seeing what she had intended through a kind of dream sequence which left me cheering.
Up to the last few minutes of the film, I felt it definitely deserved five stars. However, the ending is a bit of a letdown; it is far too dependent on mere chance to be satisfactory. I couldn't help thinking that a better ending that arose more naturally from the plot could have been devised. For example, if Joan had carried it out, the dream sequence would have been a great improvement over the ending we have, and confirmed once more her regular screen persona of being in charge of every situation.
Nevertheless, Sudden Fear is an engrossing and exciting film. It was a great way to both break in my new DVD player and to spend an evening, not to mention being a valuable addition to my appreciation of Joan Crawford the actress.