VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

mark.waltz This is a nice change of pace for the still striking Ann Southern, moving into dramatic parts after nearly two decades in mostly comedies or musicals. She had spent nearly a decade earning a steady paycheck as salt of the earth Maisie, solving everybody's troubles like an older Shirley Temple. But here, she causes it, accidentally killing her evil sister and allowing innocent brother- in-law Zachary Scott face the chair. What's ironic is that Scott, finding out that she's been unfaithful, may have done it had the nasty deceased not knocked him out with a blow from her hair brush. Hodiak's young daughter (Gigi Perreau) saw Sothern's shadow and has had a breakdown. Along comes future first lady Nancy Davis as a child psychologist who vows to uncover the secrets Perreau has locked up inside her mind.This glossy MGM film noir is interesting in its use of who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist and how the truth plays out. It's not easy to hate Sothern knowing how the gunshot happened, but her desperate state turns her into the monster of childhood nightmares, and Sothern plays the increasing anguish in excellent detail. Perreau is incredible as well, showing great depth as her horror comes and goes, giving quite the adult performance in the fact that this would be quite difficult to understand for a child in the situation, let alone play it out. Davis, often attacked for photographing oddly and simply for being the future Nancy Reagan, does manage to provide some warmth in spite of her seemingly public cold demeanor. This has many interesting facets that make up for some unbelievable bits, and of course, typical clichés that you could see coming from miles away.

Ripshin FOLKS, please stop abusing the term "film noir." This flick is a very mundane B movie, with a ridiculous plot.The actors are adequate, certainly, but this film is little more than a "filler." Scott, Southern and Davis are fine, considering the material with which they are working.The first twenty minutes are promising, but the film quickly falls apart, once the plot is centered on the young girl.It's great to have access to these obscure movies on TCM. However, this is simply a poorly constructed film. And, to reiterate, this is NOT A FILM NOIR.

wpark This is a very good B movie done in the noir style. Ray June was the cinematographer, and his deep focus work makes the film worth seeing all by itself. Note particularly the bedroom scene where everything is doubled. Zachary Scott, for a change, plays the typically confused noir male, and Ann Sothern, showing the force of period style, switches from Maisie to a somewhat tormented femme fatale. Enjoy!

bmacv Shadow on the Wall starts out with some promise as a marital spat between New York sophisticates escalates into violence. But the rest of the film centers on their daughter, who has witnessed but repressed the scene, and her psychologist, Nancy Davis (later Reagan). It's hard to say which of them is more insufferable. The movie will probably keep your attention (it's blessedly short) but it's hard to work up much affection for a vehicle that so totally miscasts, and wastes, Ann Sothern.