Post by Midge on Jan 27, 2011 16:23:37 GMT -6
This was the second feature in a tribute to Robert Ryan at the San Francisco Film Noir Festival last night. It's a classic "woman in peril" plot that is distinguished by some excellent acting and a suspenseful plot that grabs you and never lets up.
The story is set in 1918, just after the end of World War I. Ryan plays Howard, an itinerant laborer who hires himself out to do menial household chores. When we first meet him, he is finishing a job. He opens up a broom closet to put away his mop only to find the corpse of the lady of the house. Terrified, he takes the money she has left for him and jumps on a passing freight train.
Howard next turns up at the doorstep of Mrs. Helen Gordon (Ida Lupino), a war widow who runs a boarding house. At first Lupino takes sympathy on the man, who seems troubled but eager to please in a childlike way. Soon, however, Howard's odd statements and sudden paranoid outbursts reveal that this man is not just troubled, he's a psychopath. The terrified Mrs. Gordon finds herself a hostage in her own home with a man who is not only insane, but might be a murderer.
Both Ryan and Lupino are excellent in their roles. Ryan made a specialty of playing unbalanced, menacing characters, but he plays Howard not as a 100% evil bad guy, but as a man in whom we see glimpses of sensitivity and kindness. It is easy to see why the lonely Mrs. Gordon would agree to take him in and feel compassionate toward him.
Ida Lupino was the kind of actress who was made for noir. Her portrayal of Mrs. Gordon has just the right balance of intelligence, toughness and vulnerability to make her character more than just another woman in peril.
I highly recommend this suspenseful and very entertaining thriller. It's not on DVD, but perhaps it will be soon. I hope so.
The story is set in 1918, just after the end of World War I. Ryan plays Howard, an itinerant laborer who hires himself out to do menial household chores. When we first meet him, he is finishing a job. He opens up a broom closet to put away his mop only to find the corpse of the lady of the house. Terrified, he takes the money she has left for him and jumps on a passing freight train.
Howard next turns up at the doorstep of Mrs. Helen Gordon (Ida Lupino), a war widow who runs a boarding house. At first Lupino takes sympathy on the man, who seems troubled but eager to please in a childlike way. Soon, however, Howard's odd statements and sudden paranoid outbursts reveal that this man is not just troubled, he's a psychopath. The terrified Mrs. Gordon finds herself a hostage in her own home with a man who is not only insane, but might be a murderer.
Both Ryan and Lupino are excellent in their roles. Ryan made a specialty of playing unbalanced, menacing characters, but he plays Howard not as a 100% evil bad guy, but as a man in whom we see glimpses of sensitivity and kindness. It is easy to see why the lonely Mrs. Gordon would agree to take him in and feel compassionate toward him.
Ida Lupino was the kind of actress who was made for noir. Her portrayal of Mrs. Gordon has just the right balance of intelligence, toughness and vulnerability to make her character more than just another woman in peril.
I highly recommend this suspenseful and very entertaining thriller. It's not on DVD, but perhaps it will be soon. I hope so.
I hope you can find a copy. It's not on DVD, but there may still be some VHS versions around.