I received a box set of Film Noir movies that I have been watching and am surprised how many involve psychiatry which became very popular after the war. This corresponds with how many though Freud was the next best thing to popcorn and out came the ink blotches, the couch and the dreaded shock therapy ( Vivien Leigh underwent this more than once, you know her as Scarlett O’Hara). One of the more famous films is The Snake Pit,” which stars Olivia DeHavilland and it is quite a good film but I went with 3 films that I recently watched. Here are 3 Film Noir/ Psychosis movies..what a combo!
1. THE DARK MIRROR-1946
I hope this is a half-decent film trailer on this film that stars Olivia DeHavilland in 2 roles, twin sisters, one good…and one evil( I wonder if she used her actual sister, Joan Fontaine as inspiration for the evil twin because, they hated each other’s guts). The good sister works at a store frequented by a very nice, intelligent and good looking psychiatrist, played by Lee Ayres. When a man is found dead and the cops zero in on sweet Olivia, they soon realize that she has a twin…evil Olivia so they enlist the aid of the doctor to ferret out what the hell 8s going on. He can soon discern which twin is which and realizes that the good Olivia has been manipulated almost her whole life. It’s well acted and gives an insight into the fascination people were having with psychiatry. I thought the acting was solid and I like the dark noir vibe.
2. SHOCK-1946
I’m not giving anything away with this clip since it is near the beginning of the film. A sweet, anxious girl comes to a hotel to meet up with her husband whom she has not seen for a long time due to the war. She is nervously waiting for him and looks out her balcony window when she sees a husband and wife arguing viciously. Suddenly the man picks up a candlestick and “Wonk!” The woman is dead. The sweet gal goes into a catatonic shock and does not move even when her husband finally arrives in the morning. He is beside himself and calls the doctor who says she must have witnessed something so traumatic that she is paralyzed in shock ( geez, what would she do now?). No worries because the doc knows a great psychiatrist who can help and in enters…the killer…aka Vincent Price. He recommends she be taken to his hospital/sanitarium to help her. When they all arrive at the home, you meet the nurse, vixen Lynn Bari who has her hands all over the Doc and he has his all over her. Now they must find a way to make sure the sweet gal never remembers. The acting from the young bride is not the best but I just love the mild speaking Price as well as va va vavoom Bari who is one bad ass Femme Fatale. I like the look of this film and, even though, I have seen better films, I enjoyed the cat and mouse play.
3. WHIRLPOOL-1950
Poor Gene Tierney is married to a very nice psychiatrist, played by Richard Conte, who likes his woman to be…traditional… it is the post war vision of women in high heels making bread while all dressed up. Anyway, his remark, makes Gene go a little crazy where she steals things because she is a closet klepto. When she is ready to be arrested, in comes Jose Ferrer to save the day and he wants nothing in return…if you believe that I have some great swamp land to sell you. Before one can say blackmail, she is at his mercy but not if her husband has anything to say about it as well as the cops. This is a nice little psychiatric noir that makes you wonder when everything will unravel or will it? It’s well acted film with manipulation at its core even by the good natured husband who wants his wife to be the way he wants her to be setting in motion the klepto in his wife’s psyche. I hope you get a chance to watch this which must have been tough, somewhat, for Gene to do since she also had mental issues and was dealt more than one blow in her life time.
What psychological films can you think of?
Rather some dark years for psychiatry.
ReplyDeleteYes…shock treatments and lobotomies
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteOne of the greatest uses of modern technology is ours to enjoy nowadays as black & white noir films of the 20th century are upscaled to pristine quality. What a joy they are to experience! Psychiatry is one of my favorite themes. Many of the horror movies I watched as a kid included a shrink who shed scholarly light on the mysterious and terrifying events taking place on the screen. Character actor Whit Bissell played such roles to perfection.
I have mentioned many times that I admired Olivia DH and that I watched and enjoyed The Snake Pit, having first seen it in the theater as a child. To my surprise, I have not yet seen any of your featured noirs, but they look excellent. I look forward to experiencing Olivia playing a set of twins, one good and one evil, in the The Dark Mirror. As I viewed the trailer of the psycho thriller, I recognized handsome young actor Richard Long as he appeared 13 years before saving the damsel in distress from Vincent Price and the unspeakable horrors in the basement in the House On Haunted Hill.
Speaking of Vincent Price, we also see him 13 years earlier in Shock, a film that shares a "suspense through observation" theme with Hitchcock's Rear Window. The murder scene is "striking" because such acts used to "Shock" audiences. If someone witnessed the same event today, they would more likely record it on their phone and gleefully share it with their followers on social media.
Along with Whit Bissell in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957), I would like to plug Naomi Watts as a psychologist in the 2017 TV series Gypsy.
I will return with a new post this Sunday, May 25, and hope you can join the fun. Have a safe and happy weekend, dear friend BB!
I will visit you and that’s my hubby’s birthday! Yes, Richard Long had a varied career and sadly died young like his bride, Suzan Ball. I hope you see them. The Dark Mirror is the best one but it’s worth to see the other 2 especially seeing Gene Tierney. I love Vincent Price who is a sympathetic character even though he is a killer. His Lamour Toujour, on the other hand, is a total vixen played by Lynn Bari. I hope you can see these one day.
DeleteI hadn't heard of any of these. It's good you got to see some new-to-you films.
ReplyDeleteYes it is! They are not on the same calibre as the more famous Noir films but I’m glad I have them. They are fun to watch.
DeleteWow. I never heard any of these either. I have though seen the Snake Pit.
ReplyDeleteThe Snake Pit is a good film and a sign of the Psychiatric times.
DeleteBIRGIT ~
ReplyDeleteI like and own WHIRLPOOL (it's a Gene Tierney thing, you wouldn't undestand ;^)
Another one I like is SPELLBOUND, which at one time, for a little while, was my favorite Hitchcock movie.
BUT... my favorite film of this sort is the oft-mentioned 1991 Neo-Noir DEAD AGAIN; it's such a weird but fun story with a memorable bit role by Robin Williams and an unforgettable "cigarette" scene. A must-see movie, in my opinion.
~ D-FensDogG
I own Dead Again and it’s a great film that should be better known since it stars then marrieds, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. I love this mystical film about reincarnation plus. Oh no, I understand about Gene and her lovely overbite. She is stunning and JFK treated her horribly. I love Vincent Price, who was such a gentle soul in real life, is a sympathetic character even though he’s a killer.
DeleteHi Birgit!
ReplyDeleteI’ve seen all three of these, all very much of their time and place but still entertaining.
The Dark Mirror was the most prestigious when it came out but it’s rather clunky now. Olivia is obviously having fun playing the two roles.
Because it was a B “Shock” is the most unbridled of the three and that lurid wildness makes it the most fun to modern eyes. LOVE Lynn Bari, one of those solid leading ladies from the 40’s who never got their due.
Whirlpool is a tough watch if you’re at all familiar with Gene Tierney’s real-life story and it has the misfortune (for me) to costar one of my least favorite actors, the endlessly smug Jose Ferrer.
Psychiatry was all the rage just after WWII ended since so many of the soldiers were returning with PTSD and no one had a clue how to manage it. It really fed into the noir movement. Looking back on it now much of it is so much psycho babble but it was well intentioned at the time. The first three that came to me are two from immediately after peace and another a decade later that took a lighter look at it.
High Wall (1947)- Steven Kenet (Robert Taylor) has been blacking out, which is particularly problematic because he has been convicted of a crime, he thinks he did not commit -- murdering his wife. Afraid that brain surgery will allow his accusers to decree him insane, Kenet instead is sent to a mental hospital. At the hospital, Dr. Ann Lorrison (Audrey Totter-another favorite who should be better known) falls for Kenet. But after initially believing his story, she starts to doubt whether her patient, the man she loves, is innocent after all. The cast includes Herbert Marshall as well. This is by far the best of my three choices.
The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947)- War widow Janet Ames (Rosalind Russell) is struck by a car, and later her doctors suspect she may have attempted suicide. A note in her pocket lists five men whom her husband died saving in battle, and they are contacted to help Janet's recovery. The first man on the list, jaded reporter Smitty Cobb (Melvyn Douglas), is offended when Janet says she hopes to prove her husband died in vain to save five worthless men and offers to "introduce" Janet to each of the men through hypnotism.
This is a TERRIBLE movie!! Hopelessly dated and by far Roz’s worst film despite she and Melvyn along with Nina Foch, Betsy Blair and even Sid Caesar!
Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957)- Just before his marriage to Myra Hagerman (Barbara Rush), psychiatrist Alan Coles (David Niven) learns that a patient of his, neurotic Grant Cobbler (Tony Randall) once dated Myra -- as did Arthur Turner (Dan Dailey), the husband of another patient, Mildred (Ginger Rogers). Arthur decides he still wants to see Myra just as Grant decides he's still enamored with her as well. Struggling to be professional, Alan continues to counsel his patients while wondering if he can save his pending marriage. What’s supposed to be a saucy souffle is more of a warmed-over pancake.
Oh yes, I know about Gene Tierney and wonder when they will make a film about her traumatic life but I wonder who could play her. I can’t stand Jose Ferrer..I always want to slap him.
DeleteI love Vincent Price who gave a really sympathetic performance here even though he is a killer. Lynn Bari is great as the shrewish mistress but the young lass, well, she was not the best but I can forgive this because of Vince and Lynn. I like the Dark Mirror which is not as good as The Snake Pit but it is fun and I do like Lew Ayres.
I don’t know the first 2 films you mention but I’d love to see that first film for sure. I’m shocked that the 2nd film is bad so I’d like to see it, just to see how bad it is. I have heard of the last film which was one of many films that were…meh. Funny, how many films were made where the psychiatrist falls in love with the patient…isn’t that a no no?
I'm not sure that I've seen any of the three films you mentioned, but I've seen a lot of films in this genre. Nothing specific comes to mind, but I like stories about mind stuff.
ReplyDeleteLee
I have to say, one of my favourites is Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo…it’s excellent.
DeleteWow, I never knew that about Vivien Leigh!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, she would now be treated for bi-polar disorder but, back then, they didn’t know what to do. One famous night, David Niven and Stewart Granger were called over to her home, in Hollywood. She was sitting in front of the TV watching the snow and, when they tried to get her to sleep she went screaming and tore off her clothes. They ended up calling the ambulance and it took a few men to get her under control. She battled this illness all her life along with TB which, the latter, did her in when she was just 53.
Delete