MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

JohnHowardReid NOTES: Although it didn't make Bosley Crowther's Ten Best list, The Dark Corner does figure on the critic's supplementary list of the best movies of the year.Alfred Newman's composition "Street Scene" is appropriately heard under the credit titles. His brother Emil also composed a few bits here and there to augment Mockridge's score.COMMENT: This classic film noir with its moody lighting and driving pace cannot be praised too highly. It's an unusual credit for Hathaway as most of the film was shot on the studio back-lot with a bit of 2nd unit work in New York astutely matched. Mark Stevens, alas, proves himself a lightweight player. He can get by okay in a Technicolor musical, but his performance here does not come across too effectively. Dana Andrews would have been just right for the part but he was on loan-out to Walter Wanger for Canyon Passage. Fortunately, the rest of the cast more than make amends: Clifton Webb reprising his smooth villain of Laura, William Bendix in his element as a heavy, and Lucy Ball swapping smart dialogue.A movie you are absolutely forced to watch, The Dark Corner has all the atmospheric ear-marks of Hathaway's style: precision, pace, and terrifyingly pell-mell action. Sometimes abrupt, sometimes cultivated, a forever twisting yet enveloping violence is an integral part of the plot (censors worldwide, of course, saw fit to mutilate it). The moodily attractive camerawork and the richly embossed sets provide an enthrallingly superlative counterpoint to the nightmarish narrative. As a result. the screenplay, though complicated, never loses its iron grip on the audience. OTHER VIEWS: This film noir masterpiece, adroitly brings out the full essence of the noir world. Framed for murder, the hero at one point exclaims: "I feel all dead inside. I'm backed up in a dark corner, and I don't know who's hitting me!"

gsygsy Lucille Ball's name raises obvious preconceptions, but - apart from displaying her unquestioned skill with a one-line put-down - she plays it admirably straight in this nice film noir. In spite of Lucy's top billing, she's by no means the lead. That honour goes to Mark Stevens, who is little-heard of today but who is good value as the private dick with a past.Clifton Webb and William Bendix are on hand to contribute their expertise. The art direction and lighting are a treat. Director Henry Hathaway was in his heyday, keeping a tight grip on pace, and displaying a surprising interest in sound editing - listen to the way the instruments of a jazz band advance and retreat on the soundtrack as the camera passes them in and out of shot.The last reel hurries the plot a little, as if a producer was keeping a beady eye on the running time. But that apart, there's not much to fault. Strange it's not better known.

fpowell-55-608328 Thought that was Lucille. Thoroughly enjoyable movie. Kept my interest. Acting was superb. Plot line was interesting. Movies today depend on shock value or computer graphics but this was very well done. I had always seen Lucille Ball as a comedienne in conjunction with Desi Arnaz but she did great in this dramatic role. Too bad it was only in black and white but that was hardly a distraction. I've not found many movies, old or new, that were this captivating. I've always held Lucille in high regard but this just added to my appreciation of her skills as an actress. I highly recommend this story to movie lovers. Clean language, good family entertainment.

Michael_Elliott Dark Corner, The (1946) *** (out of 4) Noir about private eye Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) who has a mysterious past, which might be catching up with him after he begins to be followed by a man in white (William Bendix). Soon Galt is attacked in his apartment and when he wakes up another man is dead and he has the murder weapon in hand. Along with the help of his secretary (Lucille Ball) they must try and figure out who was behind the set-up and the reasons for it. Years before finally seeing this film I had been hearing nothing but good things about it and there's no question that the movie has a lot of very good things going for it but I'd probably stop short of calling it a complete classic. More on the issues later but the film contains everything a good noir should have and that's snappy dialogue, a good hero to root for, great use of shadows and of course the twists and turns. I thought the dialogue was the best thing about the film as it seems like each scene was trying to top the one it followed just by having the characters throwing around the witty dialogue, which features every cliché from "behind the 8-ball" to "clean as a peeled egg" and many more. The dialogue is extremely sharp and just bounces from one character to the next and this can be seen right from the start when a detective comes into the office and throws a few rounds with Ball's character. The performances are another plus with Stevens making for a good hero and someone that we can care about as we work our way through the mystery. He isn't really known for noir, which might be one reason this film isn't better known but he handles all the material nicely. It's always fun seeing Ball doing something that is the complete opposite of her Lucy character. Here she gets to play for some sex appeal and does a nice job with it and handles the dialogue extremely well. The real star here is Bendix who is terrific as the mysterious guy. He brings a lot of fun to the role and manages to be very believable in the role as does Clifton Webb who chews up each scene he's in. As expected, the film has some wonderful cinematography and some great lighting. Just check out the sequence where Stevens forces Bendix to give up information in his office. The entire room is lit by a single light and it looks great. The one issue I had with the film was a pretty major one and that's the actually story. It never really grabbed my attention and held it too strongly as I thought there were some weak moments. With that said, there's still plenty to enjoy here and fans of noir will certainly want to check it out.