Claysaba
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Chirphymium
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
clanciai
A gorgeous dramatization of the French revolution in its dying phase with all the leaders going down, Danton, Robespierre and St. Just, with Robert Cummings as a kind if French pimpernel working for Lafayette to unsettle the revolutionary establishment that has derailed into terror. It's a marvellous intrigue, with a beautiful lady at the centre, of course, and with some great acting that should be noted, especially Richard Baseheart (!) as Robespierre - it's impossible to recognize him. Can you see Captain Ahab's number one Starbuck or Fellini's jester in La Strada in this Robespierre? Equally outstanding is Arnold Moss as Fouché, oiling his ways into and out of intrigues and finally facing Napoleon. To all this comes a terrific score by Saul Kaplan. It's almost expressionistic and gives a very sharp impression of the drama of the French revolution.What then is failing? It's just slightly out of any realism. It's too adventurous, too much turned into an artificial thriller, and unfortunastely Jess Barker is totally miscast as St. Just - he is not convincing at all, and St.Just was not like that. He was an effeminate dandy and no soldier.Still, it's a brilliant film with terrific action all the way, that can't disappoint anyone.
jarrodmcdonald-1
A few nights ago I watched SABOTEUR directed by Alfred Hitchcock. When it was over, I watched a DVR recording of this film by Anthony Mann. What do both these titles have in common? Robert Cummings, of course.It occurs to me while watching REIGN OF TERROR just how expressive Cummings and his face are. Watch him in a scene without the sound, and you will see what I am saying. There are so many moods and so many bursts of energy that flash across his countenance as he delivers dialogue or handles bits of stage direction. Maybe this is because he is just one of those actors naturally at ease in front of the camera regardless of the role he's playing. And maybe it helps that he is working with good directors. Still, the expressions are genuine and not gimmicky. Those windows into what he's feeling and experiencing, they are completely real. His close-ups are intensely personal. Especially when he is conveying awe. Or terror.
GManfred
The Black Book is an unknown gem from one of Hollywood's more obscure studios. Eagle-Lion may not have had a lot of money but they showed impeccable taste when hiring a director and photographer. They got Anthony Mann to direct and the incomparable John Alton as their cinematographer for this thrilling noir about the French Revolution. What more could they have asked for?Well, they might have gotten a better leading man as well as a female lead. Apparently the money was running out when they signed up Bob Cummings and Arlene Dahl. Cummings was never an action hero, a Stalwart, so to speak. He was a light comedy supporting actor, diffident and indecisive, and it was tough sledding trying to imagine him as a two-fisted tough guy. Arlene Dahl was breathtakingly beautiful but a limited actress, even though she was better here than any other role of hers that comes to mind. Had they acquired better stars I think I could have upped my rating, because Mann has created a minor classic in 'The Black Book'. The supporting cast is better than the leads, especially Arnold Moss as Fouche and Richard Basehart as Robespierre.I'm surprised this picture doesn't have a better following, with just a few hundred votes, so if you see it you can count yourself among the lucky few.
MartinHafer
The film is about a little black book that is in Citizen Robespierre's possession. This leader during the so-called "Reign of Terror" was a cold fish who consigned many--including his good friend, Danton, to the guillotine all in the name of patriotism. It seems in this movie that the Citizen actually has a master plan to wipe out everyone around him--it's hidden in this book and it is important to find the book and reveal to everyone the evil hit list. It's up to secret agent Bob Cummings to find it and convince everyone of the danger the nation faces.There have been some exceptional films about the French Reign of Terror (in the 1790s), such as THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, A TALE OF TWO CITIES and DANTON. Because these films were so good, it made it much tougher to watch and enjoy REIGN OF TERROR. Sure, it was a good film, but compared to these great films it pales in comparison. Much of it is because there really isn't much in the way of character development and the actors could have just as likely been in a movie set in an entirely different time period. Overall, it's pretty much just a time-passer and an actor I usually love in films (Richard Basehart) is pretty bland as is the lead, Bob Cummings.
