It's still a damn good film, however you look at it. Oh yeah, you guys know that I think E;la Raines was hot. LOL
Captain Warren 'Rip' Murdock: I'm the brass-knuckles-in-the-teeth-to-dance-time type.
Well, the film didn't exactly hide it, did it? :?
You're suppossed to know who did it.
Actually, I was just disappointed in it's being so obvious because as I remember, it wasn't that obvious in the novel.
Where am I from, you ask? "Pomona, Glendale, ((Fullerton, La Habra, Anaheim)), whatever."
I just watched it last night for the first time. It's an odd movie, in that it is very easy to see through, and very naive and cornball in many ways, yet I still found myself caught up in it. I watched it specifically because I'd heard a comment by film noir historian Eddie Muller about Ella Raines and wanted to check her out for myself. And, man, that jazz sequence is incredible!
shareThe odd thing is that Franchot Tone, a longtime leading man/light comedian plays a murderer, not someone falsely accused, but a sho' nuff killer. That usually didn't happen back then.
shareThey reveal the killer's identity halfway in.
Before that, Jack Marlowe is only mentioned in a few lines.
My 'package' is as big as a cell phone...an '80s cell phone.
I'll have to reread the novel one of these days. I think it was written under the "William Irish" psuedonym.
"Do you mind if I call you Chico?"
Just saw this little gem again on TCM (thank God for TCM).
This movie really broke some ground in Franchot Tone's casting, and you never really hear about that. Strange that Robert Osborne didn't mention that in his intro or closing, but that is probably because........
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Two reasons: Tone is top-billed and he does not appear on-screen for 45 minutes. Also, he's cast against type in a big way.......
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Of course you're supposed to know he's the killer. His first scene gives that away!
And that jazz/drum sequence with Raines and Cook completely lives up to my memory of it. First saw this when I was in my teens.
Good movie.
This is why I don't want to know who the actors are until after the feature is over.
Phantom Lady has a nice structure, and a roomy tone. The odd bits of plot and performance stay sub-servant to a mysteriously compelling mood.
Great job by Executive Producer Joan Harrison in shepherding and balancing this feature to help get the mood just right.
"The only reason I'm paranoid is because everyone's against me." - Frank Burns of M*A*S*H*
I was going through the characters wondering who could have or wanted to kill his wife even wondering if he had hired a hit man and established the alibi! When the killer is revealed, it's supposed to be; that's what makes the suspense in Jack's playing along with Kansas to find the murderer...
shareI totally disagree. This film sucks however you look at it. First it's a Universal film made in 1944, so it can't be taken seriously. I've yet to see a Universal film from this era that wasn't tripe made for sheeple that just want to consume a movie and not have to think.
Secondly, there are way too many unbelievable occurrences that are a slap in the face of any intelligent viewer:
1. Why are the police waiting in the Henderson home? How did they know the murder happened?
2. The unbelievable perfection of the killer's ability to cover up the murder. How could he follow Scott without Scott ever seeing him? How could he actually get all the people that saw the Phantom Lady to accept a bribe? It's beyond X-Files "conspiracy theory" ridiculous. Plus, how could he follow Scott? Scott had to leave BEFORE his wife was murdered, right? So Scott leaves, time is taken with a conversation between killer and Scott's wife, the killer kills her, and then follows Scott? No way! There's too much time that goes by. Scott would be long gone by the time Marlow leaves the apartment.
3. How did Burgess manage to arrive in the nick of time to save Kansas? When the killer phones from the gas station, he was faking it. Burgess didn't know he was supposed to meet them. Are we supposed to assume that because Kansas called while he was busy on his line and then hung up that the police traced the call, found out the address, and sent Burgess there to rescue her? Was the police station across the street?
I could go on, but this film is barely above any Monogram made during this era (and that's pretty bad).
"It's only a movie." ~ Alfred Hitchcock
shareThis is the second film I have watched where Franchot Tone plays a murderer. I bought a package of 50 Mystery dvds and there is on from I believe 1948 with Burgess Meredith and Franchot Tone called "The Man on the Eiffel Tower". It is know immediately the Tone is the murderer and he plays around with the detective, played by Charles Laughton. Tone was very good at playing the crazy killer.
shareHe also was the {very} bad man in Whirlpool starring Gene Tierney.
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