Whirlpool
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Movie Reviews of Whirlpool
Movie Review: Interesting Noir Finally Makes Its Way To DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
This film has been unavailable for so many years, so to finally have it on DVD is great. It is an unusual film noir from Otto Preminger and his favorite leading lady, Gene Tierney, who had starred in his classic "Laura" and whom had just completed her maternity leave when production began on "Whirlpool".
Tierney gives a fascinating performance as Ann Sutton, the beautiful wife of a prominent psychiatrist (Richard Conte) who suffers from kleptomania but who will do anything to conceal this. When hypnotist David Korvo (Jose Ferrer, very menacing here), gets her out of a jam with the local authorities due to her shoplifting tendencies, he decides to use it as a form of blackmail against her in order to use his hypnotizing skills on her. He gets her to perform all kinds of shady deeds, while succeeding in getting her conscious mind to suppress it. She is strangely drawn to him, while her dumbfounded husband can come to only one conclusion - that she and Korvo are involved in an illicit affair. Ann desperately tries to prove her innocence, and in the process, leads all involved in a potentially deadly trap to stop Korvo.
There are echoes of "Laura" throughout, including the portrait that hangs over the mantle at the home of the ill-fated Theresa Randolph (Barbara O'Neill, best remembered as Scarlett's mother in GWTW), and the final shootout. Definitely an off-beat movie of the noir genre, it is still a very watchable one. Richard Conte is a little unconvincing as Tierney's shrink husband, but he manages to pull it off, with efficient support from Tierney and Ferrer.
Can a man make a woman do things she doesn't want to do? Watch "Whirlpool" and draw your own conclusions.
A great addition to the Fox Film Noir collection.
Movie Review: A Villain In Search of A Better Vehicle
Summary: 4 Stars
"Whirlpool" teeters between noir and melodrama sometimes too precariously towards the latter. It's an eminently watchable film despite alot of implausibilities in the story and the telegraphing of it's villain early in the film. But what a villain it is!!! Jose Ferrer's hypnotist David Korvo is a portrait of delicious villainy. Korvo views himself as a physician even if his profession is looked upon in respected circles as quackery. His modus operandi is preying on wealthy women and unearthing damaging character defects so that he can set them up for blackmail, money among other things. Ferrer milks this part for all it's worth and if this were a better film Korvo would be legend. This is not to denigrate the other principal actors in the film because they are fine as well. Gene Tierney is outstanding as Korvo's latest prey who isn't sure if she is descending into madness, as is Richard Conte as her sympathetic psychiatrist husband, and Charles Bickford as a compassionate police detective. View this film as good popcorn entertainment that does not achieve the classic noir status it attains to.Movie Review: Tortured kleptomanic performs unspeakable crimes? (recommended)
Summary: 4 Stars
Unbeknownst to prominent psychoanalyst Dr. William Suton (Richard Conte), he is catalyst for torture of his gorgeous wife, Ann Sutton (Gene Tierney) -- driving her to kleptomania. A stranger named David Korvo (Jose Ferrer) conveniently appears as an advocate and deliverer from public humiliation when her vice is uncovered. The thought of becoming a patient of her husband tears Ann up inside so she confides in the manipulative Korvo -- unaware of his true motivation.
A whirlpool of questions arise as the plot unfolds. Why is an affluent socialite stealing trinkets? How is Ann's husband torturing her? What does David Korvo hope to gain from Ann's association? What is the daily treatment she pays for? Does Dr. Sutton ever learn what's really happening inside is wife's mind? How do the police become involved? Is there a valid explanation why the paths of these people have crossed? Each scene introduces yet another dizzying mystery feeding this noir classic. No questions are left unanswered in the finale.
Movie quote: "Please believe what I'm saying. And don't rely on my sanity."
Movie Review: Psychoanalysis, Fox film noir style
Summary: 4 Stars
There are no hard-boiled detectives or sultry femme fatales in 'Whirlpool', so if that is your (limited) idea of film noir, then perhaps you will not like this film. The plotline about hypnotism seems taken straight out of a psychoanalysis textbook and has more to do with postwar domestic femininity than anything else. Its very enjoyable though, especially the first time around. Gene Tierney looks as beautiful as ever, although already showing signs of age, and gives a good performance, but this is really a showcase for the great Puerto Rican actor Jose Ferrer. As much as I liked it, the film will not stand as many repeated viewings as "Laura", the sublime first teaming of Gene Tierney and Otto Preminger. 'Whirlpool' looks great on the DVD transfer and I definitively recommend watching it, especially if you enjoyed the similarly themed 'Spellbound'. I think the film should be part of the collection of any film noir, Otto Preminger or Gene Tierney fan, but others may be satisfied with a simple rental.Movie Review: Do NOT read about the plot!
Summary: 4 Stars
If you've never seen Otto Preminger's "Whirlpool" you'd be well advised to avoid reading anyone's plot synopsis. Like Preminger's "Laura," the script takes some turns you will probably not anticipate.
Though it isn't quite "noir" in the gumshoe sense, it plays on important themes of the genre, notably strong independent women falling prey to parasitic men (as in "Mildred Pierce," "Born To Kill", and of course "Laura").
Jose Ferrer is easily the worst of all the "male fatales"--it's an amazing performance. And Tierney again typifies the restless postwar gal--the strong glamour girl relegated to bored housewife, which is always a recipe for disaster.
The black & white DVD transfer is luminous--as it should be, since this movie is almost never played anywhere, and has never been on video before. There's also a commentary by Richard Schickel (havent heard it yet, but lets hope it's better than the dreadful commentary Fox put on "Leave Her To Heaven").