GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

bnwfilmbuff I am generally not a big fan of Douglas Sirk so I approached this movie with some skepticism. I think this is the best movie I have seen by him. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but wonder what might have been in the hands of a firm noir master. The movie opens with a confused and upset Claudette Colbert traveling on a train to Boston from New York. She is attended to, regains her wits about her, and the movie begins to unfold. Unfortunately, the "mystery" is revealed much too soon. Robert Cummings is in an all-too-familiar role for him reminiscent of "Dial M for Murder" or "The Lost Moment" rescuing the damsel-in-distress. Raymond Burr makes an appearance early in the film and looks to be an interesting part of the proceedings but then disappears. Hazel Brooks is an actress that I was unfamiliar with and was very good in her bad girl role. The rest of the cast was okay and that was pretty much how I felt about the rest of the movie. It's between 6 and 7 and I gave it the benefit of the doubt.

dougdoepke Slick suspenser from United Artists. Courtland (Ameche) has an elaborate plot to kill his wife, Alison (Colbert), get her money, and shack-up with mistress Daphne (Brooks). Good thing Bruce (Cummings) takes a covert romantic interest in Alison otherwise she'd be toast. The material may be derivative but director Sirk knows how to smooth out the rough spots, maybe too much so. The suspense never really kicks in. I suspect that's because Ameche's too bland to generate needed menace. (Perhaps he was looking to modify his nice guy screen image, but not too much.)Thus bad things happen to a drugged-up Alison, but in serial fashion without the driving dark force behind it. Instead Coulouris (Vernay) conveys what evil sense there is. As a result, the narrative builds, without intensifying. Nonetheless, the movie has its moments—the train's sudden passage that had me clutching my chair, the sudden shattering of the office door, the plunge through the corkscrew staircase. But most memorable to this noir fan is Hazel Brooks. She's the most commanding spider woman I've seen in years of viewing. Icy, majestic, sensual, no wonder Courtland conspires to dump the ordinary-looking Alison. I love that scene where she sits, bare legged, in an elevated queenly chair while commoner Courtland supplicates from below. I wish there were more bio on her all-too-brief career.All in all, it's decent noir but minus the character edges to make it memorable.

Spikeopath Alison Courtland (Claudette Colbert) wakes up in the middle of the night on a speeding train, she has no idea how she got there... Staring Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings, Don Ameche, George Coulouris, with support coming from Rita Johnson & Raymond Burr. Directed by Douglas Sirk, adapted by St. Clair McKelway (Cy Endfield & Decla Dunning uncredited) from a novel by Leo Rosten, scored by Rudy Schrager and Joseph Valentine provides the cinematography. Practically brushed aside by its director, pulled from pillar to post by the genre assignment police, and called everything from a woman's melodrama to a psychological film noir, Sleep, My Love is a film that one could easily be led to believe is just not very good, or at best, confusing. Nether of the last two statements apply as far as I'm concerned. Firstly it has to be said (since every amateur reviewer in the land has done thus far) this is closer to the likes of Gaslight (Re: Thornton Square et al) than any femme/homme fatale driven piece of cinema. Secondly it should be noted that it's no surprise Sirk turned his nose up at the finished film, because it's a far cry from the "woman's" pictures that would make and solidify his career. What we get is a tight, if formulaic, story, that is mostly acted competently and is filmed quite excellently with an expressionistic bent by Valentine. Very early on in the piece we are privy to just what is going on, something that those who crave a mystery element may find an irritation. But here's the thing, the atmospherics on offer are enough to carry the viewer through to the finale, where, we await the outcome of the villainous dalliances that have made up the plot. Along the way we have been treated to a number of potent scenes, such as the rushing train opener and a balcony hold your breath moment. Then there's the house itself, wonderfully moody with its looming staircase, it's constantly swathed in shadows as Valentine utilises it to the maximum to make it an imposing character all by itself. In fact fans of shadow play should love the goods here since the film is 98% filmed with shadows. There's some issues (naturally). Ameche is weak as the treacherous husband, and when one finds that the hulking and deathly sullen eyed Burr is underused, one can't help think that the film would have greatly benefited from those two swapping roles. Hazel Brooks as the "other woman" is also badly underused, an annoyance since what little we do get hints at a sizzling and murky affair that begged to be fleshed out more in the noir tradition. And boy what a pair of legs did our Hazel possess!It's a damn fine film in spite of the little itches, one that deserves a bit more support than it actually gets. As for what genre it does belong to? Well psychological melodrama filmed in a film noir style sits about right one feels. 7.5/10

Geofbob This 1948 b&w movie provides 90 minutes of diversion, but it contributes little to Douglas Sirk's reputation for stylish dramas capable of interpretation on many levels. Claudette Colbert plays a woman whose husband, Don Ameche, is trying to drive her insane by drugging her at night, and causing her to act irrationally. In the opening scene, she wakes up to find herself on a train, without knowing how she got there. Though the film has noirish touches, including some staircase shots with strong shadows, this is more a Hitchcockian thriller than a film-noir. Indeed, there is quite a mix of styles and characterisations (or caricatures in some cases). Romantic lead, Robert Cummings, and Rita Johnson as a ditzy friend, engage in banter, and could have stepped out of a Thin Man film. But perhaps the most unexpected and pleasing sequence is a Chinese wedding, to which Cummings takes Colbert, and which made me wonder whether Charlie Chan wasn't going to appear and close the case!