GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

vincentlynch-moonoi Once I got past some of the gaudiest color I've ever seen in a motion picture, I enjoyed this film.First off, it's a very strong cast. Van Heflin plays a Broadway producer; this is one of the few performances of Heflin's that I actually like; he's quite excellent here. Heflin mistakenly befriends a 20 year old writer new to the city, and let's her use his apartment for her writing in the daytime when his wife is away. It's foolish, but nothing untoward in this case. Peggy Garner plays the young writer, and she is "okay"; her character apparently kills herself (thouhgh it turns out to be murder) by hanging in Heflin's apartment. Heflin's wife is played by Gene Tierney, in quite a good performance by her. Ginger Rogers is an actress that is about as snotty as you can get; not a pleasant role for her at all, and frankly I think she overacted a bit here; this may have been her worst screen performance. George Raft plays the detective investigating the case,, and he's very good in the role. Reginald Gardiner plays a friend and associate of Heflin's; I'm usually not very impressed as with Gardiner, but he does nicely here. Skip Homeier is along; not a very impressive actor, and one I had pretty much forgotten. Mabel Albertson has a supporting role. Another excellent actor who has a role here is Otto Kruger; who plays the uncle of the girl who is killed.The title tends to give away the ending, so you probably won't be very surprised when you learn who the murderer is. But it's still fun getting there. Recommended.

jjnxn-1 This overripe meller is a feast for the eyes especially for those who like their wardrobe to look like costumes but dramatically it's a limp sister. Part of the problem is that while it seems to have film noir leanings the Cinemascope while beautiful is all wrong for the tenor of the tale. The story is something that should have taken place in grimy dressing rooms and back alleys so the wide airy rooms and distant placement of the actors required by the process is a tension killer.Johnson's prosaic direction is no help just letting the story dawdle along unlike a director such a Edgar Ulmer or Nick Ray who would have sheared about ten minutes off and had a much more lively film.While the cast is a good one none turn in their best work in this. Van Heflin usually has a spiky, combative edge to his performances that make them engaging but which is missing here. Maybe this was a contract assignment that he didn't want to do or he couldn't get a handle on how to make something out of his chump of a character but whatever it is he's off his game.Gene Tierney, whose role for a star of her stature is remarkably small, was falling apart during the filming and though she looks good it's a miracle considering what rough shape she was in at the time she was able to even get to the studio each morning. Her part could have been cut completely without making a difference to the story.This was supposed to be Peggy Ann Garner's big chance to break into adult roles but everything that was special about her as a child actress disappeared as she matured and she seems a not terribly individual girl with a hideous dye job and hairdo as well as an off putting way of speaking. The transition was unsuccessful and she faded from the screen shortly after.Then there is Ginger Rogers. Her outfits are eye popping but she seems to have squeezed every ounce of her old charm and sass out of her persona and is left with a brittle, affected very shiny husk that looks like Ginger Rogers but acts like a mannequin. Her poodle perm is a horror as well!If you like star studded overdressed entertainments then this will be a satisfactory time filler but the similar much more effectively done film The Velvet Touch with Rosalind Russell, Claire Trevor and Sydney Greenstreet gets right everything this one gets wrong. That's the one worth seeking out.

museumofdave I greatly enjoyed this Cinemascope, Stereo-Sound romp, but mainly as a Guilty Pleasure, as it's a film very much of it's time, with mismatched acting styles, lush, unbelievable sets, a central premise that doesn't make much sense (lending your expensive apartment to a just-met down-and-out writer while your wife's away),and an early attempt to make visual sense of the then-new wide-screen process.Why do I like it? Ginger Rogers is way over the top, popping on and off screen with snappy diva one-liners, like Margo Channing on pep pills; Peggy Ann Garner plays a subversive Lolita, crazy-seductive and irresistible, and you can even spot Aaron Spelling towards the end in a bit part as a theatre employee. The palette is loaded with pastel colors so popular in the 1950's, and the whole thing is sort of a mild domestic whodunit whipped up into an anemic Douglas Sirk confection. Great it ain't, but because of Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney (who has very little to do but does it beautifully) and Reginald Gardner, I found it greatly entertaining.

Spuzzlightyear So imagine a film noir. Now, imagine that film noir as a technicolor Cinemascope production, and you have Black Widow. A certainly interesting, but just passable noir about a Broadway producer framed for a murder he didn't commit. Fleeing from the police, he picks up clues about the victim, and realizes his friends are not what they seem (of course). While this is pretty to look at, unfortunately, once you figure out what the cops are doing. the suspense disappears somewhat, and completely collapses at the end when we do find out the real murderer as it's almost presented as an anticlimax. Still worth a look though for it's amazing photography.