Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

MartinHafer The film begins with a woman being murdered and her husband (Robert Taylor) being held for it. However, they can't just put him in jail for this, as he has emotional problems that were exacerbated by a head injury. So instead he's sent to a psychiatric hospital. His therapist is played by Audrey Totter, who like Ingrid Bergman in SPELLBOUND, seems to ignore the boundary between patient and therapist. Eventually she comes to think that he might be innocent and investigates the case to find out who the true killer is--though she never takes the same risk or goes as deeply into the case as Bergman. This new-found belief in Taylor's innocence follows his undergoing "narcosynthesis"--using drugs to facilitate hypnosis--a highly dubious means for getting to the truth (this method has not proved successful over the years). And, it's very dubious in these sort of films that female therapists ALWAYS seem to ignore professional ethics and boundaries with their handsome male patients!This is a very interesting film that, as mentioned above, is very similar to SPELLBOUND. The difference is that this film, though on shaky psychological ground, is still far more possible than SPELLBOUND--which, though a classic, is all psychological mumbo-jumbo. Here, at least, the film has some believability and is quite interesting. Plus, it has a dandy performance by the always understated Herbert Marshall.By the way, how could Robert Taylor's character have gotten brain surgery yet not even have a bandaged head or scars immediately after this?! An odd mistake, surely.

edwagreen Something different for Robert Taylor. He stars as a possible insane killer who tries to prove his innocence.The film also showcases the acting talent of Audrey Totter. For a change, she is in a major role and not relegated to the many supporting roles she did in films.Much of the action takes place in an asylum where Taylor is committed after allegedly strangling his wife.Marshall Thompson is wonderful as the sinister boss who is the killer.The black and white photography depict the trouble that Taylor is in as he tries to prove his innocence. At first, Taylor did not want any help thinking that he was guilty. He thought that he could use his brain disorder on his behalf. When his mother suddenly dies, he needs to raise his 6 year old son.Totter is the compassionate psychologist who takes the child in and gradually comes to realize that Taylor is an innocent victim.This is a very interesting psychological thriller.

David (Handlinghandel) This is probably Robert Taylor's first real film noir. He is revered in some circles for work a decade later such as Nicholas Ray's "Party Girl." I think he is excellent in "High Wall." He plays a decorated war vet who is accused of murder. Not just accused of murder but also but into a psychiatric hospital. Yikes. No fun at all. Except that the hypnotherapist assigned to his case is a beautiful woman who kind of likes him.Cast in the role of the psychiatrist is one of the great staples of film noir, Audrey Totter. She is as always good. Better than good. What's intriguing here is that she is cast not as a femme fatale but as a career woman who is in every sense on the right side of the angels and the law.Herbert Marshall turns in a superbly creepy performance also. I won't say much about his role other than that this is not really a whodunit. We know the answer to that very early.It's an unusual, brave movie. It has flaws but is nevertheless very good.

jxm4687 Robert Taylor grapples valiantly with an offbeat role that may be too much for his limited range. He has some good scenes as a World War II vet who sustained head injuries and whose return to civilian life is plagued by headaches--and worse, incarceration in a county mental hospital after he is suspected of murdering his wife. Did he do it? No way, this guy was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross, loves his young son whom he hasn't seen for two years (while flying charter places in Burma to earn bucks for an ambitious wife), and really wants to take a research fellowship (for a measly $200 bucks a month. Besides, the movie tips its hand as to the murderer's true identity before Taylor even appears.That first glimpse of Taylor is a stunner--he's at the wheel of a car speeding out of control, an apparently dead blonde female (his wife as it turns out) at his side, his face full of madness and anguish. Unfortunately, the movie gets bogged down in dated (and superficial) psychiatry and trite glimpses of life in a mental ward. The relationship between Taylor and his psychiatrist (Audrey Totter) strains credibility, though it does push the plot forward to a fairly exciting, if not believable, conclusion. Totter is a disappointment, drab and too serious--her performance needs more of the sharp, tart personality you get from many of her other roles. Director Curtis Bernhardt gets in a few good film noir licks here. The rain during the extended climax is effective, and the scene where hospital staff visits Taylor's mother--only to find her dead--is extraordinary.Do a few terrific moments make this a worthwhile 98 minutes? Maybe.