By David in TN
friday, november 11, 2022 at 11:35:00 p.m. est
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. ET is John Berry’s Tension (1949) with Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan and William Conrad.
Film Noir Guide: “Homicide detective Sullivan opens the film using a rubber band as a visual aid to demonstrate how applying tension eventually will cause a suspect to snap. The suspect in is most recent case is a timid, ‘four-eyed pill pusher’ (pharmacist Basehart), whose wife (Totter) has been cheating on him.
“The unfortunate working stiff has been slaving day and night to buy his ungrateful wife a house in the suburbs, but Totter cares nothing for the American dream. Furs and fast cars are her thing. When she runs off with her rich new lover, Basehart confronts the man and is humiliated in a fistfight with him. That’s when he starts thinking about murder.
“After assuming a new identity as part of his plan, he meets the lovely Charisse and falls hard for her. Will her love be enough to restrain his murderous urge? Sullivan and his partner (Conrad) don’t think so, after Totter’s boyfriend is found murdered.
“Totter has a field day portraying the tawdry and calculating femme fatale in this enjoyable B movie. (Sullivan and Conrad) also pull double duty as extras crossing the street during an evening scene outside the all-night drug store where Basehart works.”
David in TN: This is another recycling of a film on Noir Alley in 2017. In previous commentary on Tension, Eddie Muller told us Audrey Totter in real life was a very nice lady, nothing like her character in the movie. Red Eddie whined about how rough the Communist director Paul Berry had it.
N.S.: I recall your discussion of this picture five years ago. Thus, Red Eddie primarily runs it for political reasons. However, Baseheart was a splendid actor, and the rest of the cast is no joke, either.
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2 comments:
Sounds like a worthwhile donation of an hour and a half of one's time
--GRA
TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at 12:30 and 10 a.m. ET is Vincent Sherman's The Unfaithful (1947) with Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Steven Geray, John Hoyt, Marta Mitrovich.
Film Noir guide: "Sheridan plays a wife who was unfaithful to her G.I. husband (Scott) while he was fighting overseas. But before Scott returned from the war, she broke up with her artist lover, who soon began stalking her. One evening, while being assaulted by her ex-lover, Sheridan stabs him to death. She concocts a story about an attempted burglary, which Scott unhesitatingly buys."
"But the investigating homicide detective (Hoyt) has doubts about her tale. When a family friend and divorce lawyer (Ayres) is contacted by a blackmailing art dealer (Geray) who has a bust of Sheridan that was created by her boyfriend, Sheridan begs him to retrieve it. But by then, the greedy extortionist has already sold it to the dead man's widow (Mitrovich), who's more interested in revenge than money."
"A loose remake of 1940's The Letter, The Unfaithful, while overly preach about cheating wives, is enjoyable thanks to strong performances by Sheridan and Ayres."
David In TN: Last week in his Outro to Tension, as I predicted Red Eddie Muller (again) wailed about the poor Communist director. He then said, "I know some of you say you are tired of hearing about the blacklist, but I'm going to continue talking about it. It was a very important part of the times. If you don't like it, have at me on Noir Alley's Twitter and Facebook."
So Red Eddie has been getting some pushback.
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