Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

VividSimon Simply Perfect

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

jimmh-309-692938 Just saw it on TMC. The contents of the movie slowly aims at the aunt being the villain, with the motive of getting Ellen out of the way in order to gain an inheritance. I believe that for some unknown reason the writers came up with the implausible ending.I thought that the movie was pretty well done. I think the fight scene between Ryan and the killer was filmed in subdued lighting because of the use of a stand in for Ryan.Even though Ryan's '49 Buick was pretty big, it seemed that Ryan took a long time to realize that there was someone in the back seat. Also, how come when the Buick crashed into the trash cans there was no damage to the right front. I guess Buick were built pretty strong back then.

mukava991 Why RKO even bothered to waste an outstanding cast in this preposterous dud of a thriller is hard to figure out. At the time it must have seemed like a tired retread of "Gaslight," "Suspicion," or even "Sorry, Wrong Number." The chief attractions for 21st century viewers are two actresses who aren't seen much in films: Jane Cowl and Vivian Vance. Cowl was a renowned leading lady of the stage for decades, beginning in 1903, and a successful playwright as well (she wrote and starred in "Smilin' Through," which was eventually filmed with Norma Shearer, just one of several roles she originated which were played by others in film adaptations). None of this background is particularly evident in her performance here, but her presence is of historical interest. Vance contributes a neat bit as a rather sinister hotel maid, reminding viewers that there was a lot more to her than Ethel Mertz. Colbert, called upon to play a variation on the woman being driven mad, which had already been done to perfection in far better films by the likes of Joan Fontaine and Ingrid Bergman, fulfills the obligations of the script - which isn't saying much. Through dialogue we are informed that she is a concert pianist, but nowhere does her connection to this profession impact the plot or her character. In one scene she plays the piano but she could just as well have been knitting a sweater. One can only surmise that the career references were tossed into the script as a classy, indirect way of explaining why a woman of her age had never been married before- she was too busy with her great career. On paper this plot about a mysterious and inexplicable conspiracy against an innocent woman might have looked somewhat promising, but its drearily conventional presentation waters down the suspense. The best scenes are the ones that make some attempt at atmosphere: a tightly staged encounter between Vance and Robert Ryan in a hotel linen storage room and a noir-ish one in Vance's cheap boarding house; also, a visitation by Colbert and her fiancé Ryan to a club where they sit in semi-frozen anticipation as an ensemble plays laid-back modern jazz. The depiction of a mental institution where Colbert is sent after breaking down in a courtroom is laughable. And finally, the resolution of the mystery is truly beyond belief.

dougdoepke Is Ellen (Colbert) losing her mind—is she already married? The trouble is what she remembers happening is not what a bunch of other people remember. So what's going on.About half way through, the movie turns from high-key lighting into noir. But then Ellen's fiancée is the great noir icon Robert Ryan. Except here, he's basically a good guy, although those inventive opening scenes where he can't get into his own wedding prove he's a quirky sort. Colbert gets to show her acting chops by running through about every emotion in the book. And I couldn't help thinking of the previous year's The Snake Pit (1948) as I watched her breakdown.It's a tense, riveting mystery as we try figuring out what's going on. Ellen seems so convincing, but then so does the damning evidence against her. The screenplay effectively draws the noose ever tighter around Ellen's sanity up till the end. Then the script nosedives with some ridiculous motivation that's just too implausible to fly (without giving it away). Too bad, since the movie could have excelled without this unfortunate lapse.There's one scene that intrigued me. Hoping to unravel the mystery, Ellen and David enter what looks like a spacious, well-lit livingroom. There, what only can be described as a cutting-edge jazz ensemble is laying out the cool sounds of the time. Draped languorously across a couch is an equally cool-looking blonde. It's a highly suggestive scene, and clearly an effort at creating exotic atmosphere. But, the banal setting and the high-key lighting drain the needed visual impact. It's almost like someone (director Ferrer, the producers?) was afraid of too much "atmosphere", (contrast with the super-evocative jazz scene in the classic DOA {1950}). Thus, a potential highlight is allowed to pass by.All in all, it's unfortunate that the fine acting, inventive touches, and genuine suspense are challenged by a key lapse in the plausibility of the screenplay. Otherwise it's an effective little thriller.

bmacv The Secret Fury, in many ways a run-of-the-mill romantic suspense drama (directed by Mel Ferrer) boasts top-notch principals in Colbert and Ryan; it stays puzzling if not quite gripping until towards the end, when implausibility conquers suspension of disbelief -- as so often it does in this genre. But for some viewers the film's highlight will be the portrayal of blowsy Leah by Vivian Vance -- the immortal Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy." Oddly, Vance had very few film roles; her true home was Broadway, where (among other gigs) she understudied for Ethel Merman. Here she contributes a winning turn as a chambermaid suborned to play a minor part in a nefarious scheme; watch her half-heartedly trying to wave away the smoke when she's puffing a furtive cigarette in the hotel's linen-storage room -- a transgression for which she ultimately pays the supreme penalty.