Stubs - Armored Car Robbery

Armored Car Robbery (1950) Starring Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman Directed by Richard Fleischer. Screenplay by Earl Felton, Gerald Drayson Adams. Produced by Herman Schlom. Run Time: 67 minutes. Black and White. USA Film Noir, Crime, Drama, Police, Heist

Many films that get categorized as film noirs fit into another group of titles called B pictures. Armored Car Robbery is such a film. An RKO Pictures production, Armored Car Robbery, according to film professor Bob Porfirio, possesses the "film noir visual style" of the many RKO crime and suspense films of the early 1950s, such as: high-contrast photography integrating studio and location shooting, expressionistic lighting, deep focus, and haunting music (by Roy Webb).

Stubs - The Big Steal

 The Big Steal (1949) Starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix, Patric Knowles, Ramon Novarro Directed by Don Siegel Screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring, Gerald Drayson Adams Based on the short story "The Road to Carmichael's" by Richard Wormser in The Saturday Evening Post (19 Sep 1942). Produced by Jack J. Gross Run time: 71 minutes. USA Drama, Crime, Film Noir

Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer starred together in Out of the Past (1947), which is considered by many to be one of the best film noirs ever made. The film was a hit at the time, so a silver screen reunion with the two of them wouldn’t seem out of the question. However, their pairing in The Big Steal almost didn’t happen.

Stubs - Three Strangers

Three Strangers (1946) Starring Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre. Directed by Jean Negulesco. Screenplay by John Huston, Howard Koch. Produced by Wolfgang Reinhardt. Run time: 92 minutes. Black and White USA. Film Noir, Crime, Drama.

Even back in the golden days of the Hollywood studio system, the idea of sequels was nothing new. Take The Maltese Falcon (1941), as an example. Third time’s the charm with that film and afterward, Warner Bros was interested in making a sequel. The idea was to use a treatment written by John Huston, and bought by the studio in 1937 as the basis for it.

Inspired by a wooden figure he bought in an antique shop while working in London, a party in his flat suggested to Huston the story of three strangers sharing a sweepstakes ticket. Huston returned to Hollywood in 1937 and Warner Bros. bought the treatment. Several actors were considered but never cast in the original film they wanted to make based on it. Actors considered for the role of "Jerome K. Arbutny" were Lionel Atwill, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter and Claude Rains, while Miriam Hopkins and Kay Francis were considered to play "Crystal Shackelford". For the role of "Johnny West," Errol Flynn, David Niven, Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Robert Montgomery were considered.

However, no film materialized. After the success of The Maltese Falcon, Warner Bros. thought to rework it and Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Mary Astor were to star. However, Warner Bros. discovered that the rights to the characters from that film had reverted back to Dashiell Hammett, author of the original novel.

Stubs - Crime School

Crime School (1938) Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Bernard Punsly, Gabriel Dell, Charles Trowbridge Directed by Lewis Seiler. Screenplay by Crane Wilbur, Vincent Sherman. Produced by Jack L. Warner (Executive Producer), Hal B Wallis (Executive Producer). Run time: 86 minutes. USA Black and White Drama. Crime.

The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors who had appeared in the play version of Dead End on Broadway. As a result, Samuel Goldwyn signed Bernard Punsly, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell and Billy Halop to a two-year contract. Following the success of his film version of Dead End (1937), Goldwyn sold his contract with the Dead End Kids to Warner Bros.

Crime School came together because Jack Warner didn’t like to let his contracted actors not to work for their money. According to screenwriter Vincent Sherman, in his book Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director, "the project never came to life, and Warner, annoyed with having to pay the Kids' salaries for months when nothing was being done with them, voiced his feelings one day at the lunch table. [The head of Warner Bros' B-unit Bryan] Foy said he could put the boys to work quickly by doing a switch, remaking, and combining two old studio A films. Warner said, 'Go ahead. You've got 'em.'"

Stubs - Arsène Lupin

Arsène Lupin (1932) Starring John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Karen Morley. Directed by Jack Conway. Screenplay by Carey Wilson. Based on the play Arsène Lupin by Maurice Leblanc and Francis de Croisset (Paris, 28 Oct 1908) and was based on the book of the same name by Maurice Leblanc, first published in Paris in 1907. Producer (none Credited) Run time: 84 minutes. USA Black and White Pre-code. Drama. Crime. Comedy.

If you’re like me, you may be aware of Arsène Lupin through Lupin III, a series of manga and anime about the supposed grandson. The origins go back to a short story written by Maurice Leblanc, "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin", which was published on July 15, 1905. The character would go on to be featured in 17 novels and 39 novellas by Leblanc published until 1935.

It should come as no surprise that films would be made as well. The surprise may be in how many. The first film was The Gentleman Burglar (1908). The German film Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes followed in 1910. A French film called Arsène Lupin came out in 1914. A new version of The Gentleman Burglar (1915) was followed by a pair of films called Arsène Lupin (1916; UK) and (1917, US). Overall, there have been at least 25 films made, with the most recent being the Japanese film Lupin no Kiganjoh (2011). That doesn’t count the television series (Lupin III), stage plays, comic books, and video games based around the character and his descendant.

While the finished film would star the acting Barrymore siblings, they were not the first choices for the roles. Robert Montgomery and John Gilbert were both considered for the starring role in the film. This would end up being the first of four films to feature the brothers. They would also appear in Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), and Rasputin and the Empress (1933).

Stubs - Batman Returns

 

Batman Returns (1992) Starring: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken. Directed by Tim Burton. Screenplay by Daniel Waters Based upon characters appearing in magazines published by DC Comics Inc., and on comic book characters by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Produced by Denise Di Novi and Tim Burton USA Run time: 126 minutes. Color. Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Crime, Superhero, Christmas

You might think of Batman and Christmas but that’s what you have with Batman Returns, at least that’s how we’re counting this entry into the Batman cinematic universe. The setting at Christmastime in Gotham City more than qualifies this for our purposes. But can you have a Happy Holiday while watching the Dark Knight?

Stubs - The Clay Pigeon

The Clay Pigeon (1949) Starring: Bill Williams, Barbara Hale, Richard Quine, Richard Loo. Directed by Richard O. Fleischer. Screenplay by Carl Foreman. Produced by Herman Schlom. Run time: 63 minutes. USA Black and White Film Noir, Drama, Crime.

Howard Hughes purchased RKO in 1948 and while he is known for giving his input, wanted or not, on the main, or A-Pictures, produced by the studio during his reign as owner, he did not seem to have the same interest in the B-Pictures the studio made. B-Pictures, with their lower budgets and shorter run times, were the second feature in a double bill. The first film produced after Hughes’ purchase was a B-Picture, The Clay Pigeon.

Stubs - Scene of the Crime

Scene of the Crime (1949) Starring Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, Gloria De Haven, Tom Drake, Leon Ames, John McIntire, Donald Woods, Norman Lloyd, Jerome Cowan, Tom Powers Directed by Roy Rowland. Screenplay by Charles Schnee. Produced by Harry Rapf Run time: 95 minutes. USA Black and White. Crime, Drama, Film Noir

Under the leadership of Louis B. Mayer, MGM studios was Hollywood's "Tiffany Studio” with a long history of making glamorous films, especially musicals. Unlike Warner Bros., which was now for its gangster films, with a few exceptions, MGM did not deal with those kinds of films. Things began to change in 1948, when Dore Schary returned to the studio, after a stint at RKO, to replace Mayer as the head of production.

One of the films the studio made, post this transition, was Scene of the Crime.

Stubs - No Questions Asked

 

No Questions Asked (1951) Starring: Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, George Murphy, Jean Hagen Directed by Harold F. Kress Screenplay by Sidney Sheldon. Produced by Nicholas Nayfack USA Run time: 82 minutes. Black and White. Film Noir, Police, Drama, Crime

In 1948, Dore Schary left RKO studios where he was Head of Production, choosing to return to MGM and a contemptuous relationship with Louis B. Mayer, rather than work for RKO’s new owner, Howard Hughes. With Schary as Vice-President in charge of Production, MGM began make grittier films, including Tension (1949), SideStreet (1950), Caught (1949), Border Incident (1949), Act of Violence (1949), TheAsphalt Jungle (1950), and No Questions Asked (1951).

Stubs - Blondie Johnson

Blondie Johnson (1933) Starring: Chester Morris, Joan Blondell, Allen Jenkins, Earle Foxe, Claire Dodd. Directed by Ray Enright. Screenplay by Earl Baldwin. No Producer Credited. Run time: 67 minutes. USA Black and White Drama, Crime

Joan Blondell arrived in Hollywood in 1930, appearing in one film, The Office Wife, but she didn’t really get noticed until she appeared with James Cagney in such films as Sinners' Holiday (1930) and Other Men’s Women (1931), The Public Enemy (1931) and The Crowd Roars (1932). She would also appear next to Barbara Stanwyck in Night Nurse (1931) and with Warren William, Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis in Three On a Match (1932), to name a few of the films she made in Hollywood’s pre-code era.

Stubs - Follow Me Quietly

Follow Me Quietly (1949) Starring: William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey, Nestor Paiva, Charles D. Brown, Paul Guilfoyle, Edwin Max. Director: Richard O. Fleischer. Screenplay by Lillie Hayward. Based on a Story by Francis Rosenwald and Anthony Mann. Producer: Herman Schlom. USA Run Time: 59 minutes. Black and White. Police, Crime, Drama, Film Noir

There are some things that all film noirs have to have. Primary amongst them is that there has to be a crime, usually murder, involved. There should also be a femme fatale or at least an attractive woman involved with the protagonist, usually to his detriment. And usually, a bulk of the film will take place at night, where the long shadows of daylight are replaced by the even darker shadows of the underworld. While police are oftentimes critical to the story, so can be other occupations, like newspaper reporters. As we saw in While The City Sleeps, newspaper reporters, like the police, are always there, always answering their desk phones, no matter the time of day.

Follow Me Quietly originated as a story by Francis Rosenwald and Anthony Mann. While Rosenwald’s credits are somewhat spare, Anthony Mann’s is not. Like many directors active during the studio era, Mann directed many genres of films, including musicals, Moonlight in Havana (1942); comedy-dramas Dr. Broadway (1942), My Best Gal (1944), Sing Your Way Home (1945); biographies, The Glenn Miller Story (1954); Westerns, The Naked Spur (1953), Winchester ’73 (1950), The Far Country (1955), The Man From Laramie (1955); and Epics: El Cid (1961) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). But he may be best known for his work in film noirs, beginning with The Great Flamarion (1945), and continuing with such films as Desperate (1947), Raw Deal (1948), T-Men (1948), Border Incident (1949), and Side Street (1949). A story co-written by Mann would definitely have some gravitas attached to it. There are some reports that Mann also had a hand in directing the film, though that contribution was uncredited.

Originally purchased by Jack Wrather Productions, to be released by Allied Artists with Don Castle in the lead, the story was sold to RKO in December 1947. Things weren’t settled with script or star. Martin Rackin was originally assigned to write the script and it should say something that his name doesn’t appear in the credits. Also, the original star was Kent Smith. RKO, by then, was the property of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. As part of his new regime, the film was given a short 16-day shooting schedule beginning on August 18, 1948. The film was released on July 14, 1949, after a New York premiere a week earlier.

Magazine reporter Ann Gorman (Dorothy Patrick) comes looking for police
 lieutenant Harry Grant in a cafe but cashier Benny (Nestor Paiva) hasn't seen him.

The film opens, when else, on a dark and rainy night. Ann Gorman (Dorothy Patrick), a writer for Four Star Crime magazine, enters a café looking for police lieutenant Harry Grant (William Lundigan). She wants to interview him about "The Judge," a serial killer who only attacks when it rains. However, Benny (Nestor Paiva), the cashier at the bar, tells her that Harry’s not there. She tries talking to his partner, Sgt. Art Collins (Jeff Corey), but he defers answers to his superior. When Harry does arrive, he rejects Ann's pleas for information and leaves with his partner, Sgt. Art Collins, when a call comes in about a new attack, this one on a newspaper editor named McGill (Frank Ferguson).

Ann tries but fails to get either police lieutenant Harry Grant (William Lundigan) or his partner
Sgt. Art Collins (Jeff Corey) to talk about the case they're working.

Though Ann tries to ride along, she has to take a cab to follow the policemen. McGill is badly injured, after taking a multi-story fall, but before he can be taken away describes what happened. While working at this desk, his assailant entered his office and tried to strangle him. In the struggle, McGill managed to get pushed out of his window. But before McGill gets around to describing his attacker, he dies. Despite that, Harry is convinced that this is indeed the work of The Judge.

McGill (Frank Ferguson) recalls the Judge's attack.

Harry and Art discover a note left by the Judge before Ann shows up at the crime scene. Harry doesn't like the fact that she's taken photos and as he escorts her out, he takes the film out of the camera.

Harry takes the film out of Ann's camera after she's taken photos at the crime scene.

Back at the office, Harry and Art discuss the many clues that have been collected about the Judge, including the kind of clothes he wears and his hat. He knows The Judge's habits and psychology, including the fact that he murders out of a sense of moral outrage. The biggest thing missing is that Harry has not been able to "put a face" to the killer.

Some of the evidence Harry has collected on The Judge.

Out of a sense of frustration, Harry comes up with an idea and asks his forensic experts to construct a dummy replica of The Judge based on the clues he has collected. Soon he has not only an artist sketch to pass around, but also a life-sized but faceless mannequin which Harry uses to instruct other officers working on the case.

The faceless mannequin the police create for their suspect.

Meanwhile, Ann continues to press Harry for information, even showing up unannounced in his apartment. She wears him down and he signs an authorization form allowing her to write about the case, but stipulates that he has final approval over any story. Later, he learns that Ann has used the authorization form to obtain information about the dummy, whose existence he wants to keep secret from the public. She has even filed a story without consulting him, which he angrily denounces.

Harry gets a call that they have supposedly caught the Judge and he goes to hear the confession. When he askes the man (Douglas Spencer) claiming to be The Judge to strangle him the way he had his one of his recent victims, the man gets unmasked as a phony.

A man (Douglas Spencer) pretends to be The Judge.

Later, back at the office, it’s another rainy night and the distraught Harry stares out the window and talks to the dummy in his darkened office. Harry is sure that The Judge is going to strike that night, and takes off in his car to drive around the city. Even though instructed to stay, Art leaves. Only after he’s gone is it revealed that the Dummy has been replaced by The Judge, who gets up and exits out a back door.

Neither Harry or Art suspect that the mannequin has been replaced by the real Judge.

Harry is soon joined by Ann, who has followed him. She gets into his car and tears up the authorization form as proof of her contrition. As predicted, that night The Judge strangles another seemingly random victim. Harry is depressed and talks about quitting the case but Ann talks him out of it. When the other police arrive, he sends Ann home and then discovers that the Judge has left another clue for Harry--a year-old copy of a Four Star Crime magazine.

After studying the magazine, Ann concludes that the killer must have purchased it from a used bookstore. Harry, Art, and Ann then canvas the city's bookstores until they find a proprietor (Maurice Cass) who confirms that a man whose build and dress match the dummy's buys crime magazines at his store.

Assuming that the killer lives near the bookstore, Harry and Art canvas other area businesses and eventually find a café waitress (Marlo Dwyer), who, after being taken to police headquarters, identifies the dummy as Charlie Roy, a nice man who lives around the corner.

The apartment manager (Michael Mark) lets Harry and Art into Charlie's apartment and they discover evidence.

After the apartment manager (Michael Mark) lets them into the apartment, Harry and Art discover crime books and souvenirs from the murders. They then stake out his building, waiting for The Judge to return. Sensing trouble, however, Charlie (Edwin Max) hesitates before entering, then flees down the street.

Harry waits with the apartment manager for Charlie to return.

During the chase, Charlie heads to the rooftop of a nearby gas works plant. Harry loses his gun and Charlie picks it up. The police arrive and surround the plant and shoot at Charlie. One of the cops hits a water tank. Charlie shoots back and fires all the bullets in the gun. After that, Harry is able to corner Charlie and handcuff him.

The chase leads to a nearby gas works.

As Harry is bringing Charlie out of the plant, the pouring water from the tank like rain, makes the killer become hysterical. He struggles with Harry, dragging him back up the catwalk by the handcuffs. Harry is finally able to free himself and pushes Charlie to his death.

Harry puts the handcuffs on Charlie (Edwin Max).

With the case solved, Harry and Ann then enjoy a quiet, romantic drink together back at the bar where they first met.

To be honest, this has “B” movie written all over it. That’s not to say it's bad, just that it could be better. With a short runtime, things have to be jettisoned in favor of action. One of the biggest missing pieces is why Charlie murders and why rain apparently sets him off. He is obviously a killer with a psychological problem, but the movie makes no effort to figure out the cause of it. No time.

Dorothy Patrick plays the part that might have perhaps been the femme fatale. A beautiful actress, her beauty is not really a factor in the film. She is never really in danger from The Judge, which would have been a good twist and for most of the film, Harry seems immune to her as well. She’s just a working girl trying to do her job. She would become a “Queen of the “Bs” appearing in a lot of what they called programmers, including High Wall (1947), New Orleans (1947), and House by the River (1950). She’s good and likable in her role here as reporter Ann Gorman.

Playing the lead was something new for Patrick as it also was for the male lead. William Lundigan would appear in more than 125 films beginning in 1937, including Dodge City (1939), The Fighting 69^th (1940), The Sea Hawk (1940), Santa Fe Trail (1940) and The House on Telegraph Hill (1951), but was rarely more than a supporting player. He’s athletic and fairly handsome but still feels a little like a second choice to play the lead in a film. He plays the straight-laced detective fairly well but he, like the killer, is rather one-dimensional.

Edwin Max also seems a bit of surprise cast as the killer, Charlie. After seeing The Judge in action, Max is a bit of a disappointment. Just as a body type you wouldn’t look at him and think he could overpower people the way a strangler would have to. Max would have 60 credits to his name, including a combination of TV and film roles but in this one, he seems to be miscast.

You have to give the film some credit for the idea of using a mannequin to help catch the killer, though you have to imagine that is one of those things that would only happen in a movie. There is an impracticality about the concept that would prevent it from being used in a real murder case.

There is no way that Ann and Harry don’t get together by the end of the film. Not that they have really great on-screen chemistry, but in a movie like this, the hero always gets the pretty girl. And even a film noir needs a happy ending so you not only expect it, but you accept it as well.

With the premise being that the Judge only kills when it's raining, there are only a few cities that this would really be a big deal. In a city like Los Angeles which is burdened by droughts, a rainy-day killer would be sidelined more often than not. However, in a city like Seattle, there would be a real terror. I don’t believe the location is ever mentioned, other than it's a city.

Reviews were at best mixed. The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther’s review referred to it as an “utterly senseless little thriller is patently nothing more than a convenient one-hour time-killer between performances of the eight-act vaudeville bill.” Not high praise. Still, the film is not all that bad. With a short running time, there is a lot of action and it does provide a taste of terror and takes the viewer on the dark side of life in a big wet city.

Stubs - Shadow on the Wall

Shadow on the Wall (1950) Starring: Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott, Gigi Perreau, Nancy Davis, Kristine Miller, John McIntire. Director: Patrick Jackson Screenplay by William Ludwig. Based on the novel Death in the Doll's House by Hannah Lees and Lawrence P. Bachmann (New York, 1943). Produced by Robert Sisk. Run Time: 84 minutes. USA. Black and White, Crime, Drama, Film Noir

In the late 1940s, film noir was a big deal in Hollywood. So much so that it seemed every studio was making them, including MGM. To make Shadow on the Wall, they borrowed Gigi Perreau from Samuel Goldwyn, Zachary Scott from Warner Bros. and Kristine Miller from Paramount. Gigi Perreau was a childhood star having begun in pictures when she was only two with a role in Madame Curie (1943) since she could already speak French. She would appear in several films, including Mr. Skeffington (1944), as the child of Claude Rains and Bette Davis.

Shadow on the Wall was the only Hollywood film directed by British director Patrick Jackson. After this film, Jackson would return to England where he would eventually direct television. Perhaps the best-known being Danger Man (Secret Agent) and The Prisoner. Production on the film began on April 11, 1949, and continued until the middle of May.

The film opens with Susan (Gigi Perreau) playing with her dolls in her New York City apartment under the supervision of her nanny. Her mother, Celia (Kristine Miller), is not at home. Unexpectantly, her father David (Zachary Scott) returns to town after a brief business trip to Seattle. Like he does every time he comes back from a business trip, David has a gift for her; an Indian doll. She names the doll Cupid since he’s holding a bow and arrow. In addition, he has brought back some souvenirs he’d been given from World War II, including a Nazi flag, a Nazi cap, and a small handgun.

Celia, meanwhile, is with her lover, Crane Weymouth (Tom Helmore), who also happens to be the fiancé of Celia's sister, Dell Faring (Ann Sothern). Crane wants them to come clean but Celia isn’t ready.

David is getting ready for dinner that night. Susan has a boy who is a friend of hers over so he could watch David shave since he doesn’t have a father himself. When David goes to take him home, he sees Celia and Crane together in his car.

Upon his return, he acts like he doesn’t know and asks her where she’s been. She tells him that she had been at a Broadway matinee with a female friend of hers. He acts like he wishes they could be alone, knowing that Crane and Dell are coming over for dinner.

When the two men are alone, David quizzes Crane about the Matinee performance and Crane bites, admitting that he was with Celia but trying to keep with what he thinks is the cover story she told David. This bit of news comes as a surprise to Dell, who has apparently been lied to. Dell develops a headache and Crane has to take her home.

David (Zachary Scott) confronts his wife Celia (Kristine Miller) about her affair with Crane, her sister's fiance.

When the two of them are alone, David angrily confronts Celia. He’s going to put the gun away but as the argument heats up, Celia panics and knocks him unconscious with a heavy hand mirror she’s holding when he gets too close.

Fearing he might shoot her, Celia knocks him unconscious with a hand mirror.

Soon afterward, Dell returns to the apartment to confront Celia, but Celia thinks she’s killed David and asks her sister to help her. Dell checks David out and determines that he’s only unconscious. The gun David had been holding is lying on the floor and Celia asks Dell to take it away. Dell places David's gun in her coat pocket and accuses Celia of stealing her fiancé. As her anger rises, Dell reaches into her coat pocket and fires the gun at Celia, killing her instantly.

Dell (Ann Sothern) comes back to also confront Celia about Crane.

Just then, Susan enters the bedroom, sees her parents lying on the floor, sees a shadow on the wall, and screams. Celia throws the gun on the floor and flees. David eventually regains consciousness momentarily but is still out when the police arrive.

Susan sees a shadow on the wall.

He is later tried for the murder of his wife, found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in only a few weeks. Because he is unable to remember what happened after he was knocked unconscious by his wife, David accepts the verdict and resigns himself to spending the rest of his life on death row.

A jury of his peers finds David guilty of murder in the first-degree.

Dell, who watched the trial in silence, continues to suppress the truth about the murder. She goes so far as to write a confession letter but then chickens out and doesn’t send it. She tears it up and lets the pieces be washed away in the gutter.

Susan (Gigi Perreau) gets psychological help from Dr. Caroline Canford (Nancy Davis).

Meanwhile, Susan, who has developed psychological problems after seeing her mother dead, is placed under the care of psychiatrists Dr. Hodge (Pierre Watkin) and Dr. Caroline Canford (Nancy Davis) at Children's Hospital. Caroline tries to comfort her by bringing her the Indian doll her father had gotten her, but Susan wants nothing to do with it. Susan is haunted by the image of something but she can’t put it into words.

The image that haunts Susan casts a similar shadow to the outline of Cupid, her Indian doll.

Studying Susan's play through a one-way mirror, Caroline begins to suspect that there may have been a third person in the bedroom when Susan entered it. Dell eventually learns about the details of Caroline's examination of Susan and Caroline’s plans to take Susan to see her father.

Dell watches and then tries to disrupt Susan's therapy session.

Caroline arranges for David to meet with Susan in the warden’s house. He tries to convince Susan that he’s sick and is going to get better but, in the meantime, she’ll be safe with “Aunt” Caroline.

Fearing that the truth may surface, Dell tries to disrupt the therapy and when that doesn’t work attempts to silence Susan by poisoning her chocolate milk. The plan fails, however, when Susan accidentally spills the drink rather than drinking it.

Caroline puts Susan to bed in a hot bath to try to comfort her.

Dell will later sneak into the hospital and try to drown Susan after she’s been left to sleep in a warm bath to calm her. That attempt fails as well.

Dell gains legal custody from David, who doesn’t suspect her motives. Dell plans to take Susan out of the hospital and to her vacation home in Connecticut.

Caroline, however, objects to the trip because she believes that Susan is close to identifying the mysterious person who was in the bedroom at the time of the murder. She tries one more time and takes Susan back to her old apartment. Caroline and Dr. Hodge try to re-enact the fight between her parents but it doesn’t seem to work. Forced to comply with Dell's wishes, she and Dr. Hodge drive Susan to Dell's country home.

Dell turns on a light that just happens to cast the same shadow as she had at the murder scene.

Just as Caroline and Dr. Hodge are about to leave, Dell turns on a porch light, which casts her shadow onto the side of the house. Susan screams when she recognizes the shadow as being the same one she saw in her parents' bedroom on the night of the murder. Dell then makes a complete confession, after which David is exonerated and released from prison.

Reunited at the hospital, David promises that they will see Aunt Caroline again.

The film got generally good reviews, as an example, The New York Times praised the acting and the writing, pointing out Nancy Davis as “beautiful and convincing”, Gigi Perreau as “excellent”, Zachary Scott as “realistic”, Kristine Miller as “competent” and Ann Sothern’s performance as a “polished portrayal”. Made on a budget of just more than $700,000, the film actually lost money, approximately $330,000 during its first release.

Usually, you don’t associate film noir with small children playing a major role but this is not a new facet, see The Window (1949), in which a boy witnesses a murder. Like that film, the young witness becomes the target of the killer. And as with The Window, while the killer tries, no harm actually comes to the child. Hollywood was not ready for that to happen. Gigi Perreau is a good child actor, but never really made a big splash as an adult actress. She would appear in such films as Bonzo Goes to College (1952) and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956).

Child actress Gigi Perreau plays Susan in Shadow on the Wall.

Someone else you don’t associate with murder is Ann Sothern, an actress best known at the time for her role as Maisie Ravier in MGM’s long-running Maisie series of 10 films from Maisie (1939) to Undercover Maisie (1947) and a spin-off radio series The Adventures of Maisie (1945-1947 on CBS and again in 1952) on Mutual. Sothern would also appear in a couple of musicals as well as A Letter to Three Wives (1949), a romantic drama at 20^th Century Fox. Still, no one would have expected her to play a murderer. It might have been this casting that might have worked against the film when it was released. Audiences might not have been ready for that sort of change. However, it is a role she plays well.

Also due praise is Nancy Davis, the future Mrs. Ronald Reagan and First Lady of the United States when he was elected President. She had only appeared in a handful of films by this time. 29 years-old when this film was made, she is pretty and is good in the role of Dr. Caroline Canford. She would appear in one more film noir in her short career, Talk About a Stranger (1952). But she is probably best remembered for her years in the Reagan White House as for any film she made.

For the most part, this isn’t as bad of a film as losing money when first released might suggest. While not great film noir, it is a pretty good story and pretty solid though not spectacular acting. The surprise casting of Ann Sothern as the killer might not resonate with modern audiences, neither should that work against the film.

Be sure to check out our Film Noir Review Hub for reviews of other films in this genre.

Stubs - Twins (1988)

Twins (1988) Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett, Tony Jay. Directed by Ivan Reitman. Screenplay by William Davies, Timothy Harris, William Osborne, Herschel Weingrod. Produced by Ivan Reitman. Run Time: 107 minutes.  USA. Color. Comedy, Crime

By 1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the world’s top action heroes. The Austrian-born bodybuilder turned actor had his big breakthrough as the title character in Conan the Barbarian (1982). He would go on to a string of films including Conan the Destroyer (1984); The Terminator (1984); Red Sonja (1985); Commando (1985); Raw Deal (1986); The Running Man (1987); Predator (1987); and Red Heat (1988).

Perhaps as unlikely as Schwarzenegger’s stardom might seem, was Danny DeVito, a four-foot ten-inch actor from Neptune Township, New Jersey. Best known for his role as Louie De Palma on the television show Taxi (1978-1983), Devito had also appeared in films, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); Terms of Endearment (1983); Romancing the Stone (1984); The Jewel of the Nile (1985); Ruthless People (1986); Tin Men (1987) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987) to name a few.

The idea of matching these total opposites was the brainchild of Ivan Reitman, a Slovakian-born director and producer of such films as National Lampoon's Animal House (1978); Meatballs (1979); Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984).

Twins is the story of mismatched fraternal twins separated at birth. Julius Benedict (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Vincent Benedict (Danny DeVito) were born as part of a secret U.S. government project to develop a perfect child. A single woman, Mary Ann Benedict (Heather Graham) was fertilized by a mix of sperm from six distinguished men, who were either brilliant or athletic. But the experiment went awry and the embryo split in two, resulting in two not so equal boys.

Twins at birth and quickly separated.

One, Julius has been whisked away and raised on a tropical island by Professor Werner where he’s learned science, literature and multiple languages as he assists with the doctor’s research. He also developed muscles to spare.

On his 35^th birthday, Julius is informed by Werner that Vincent exists. Excited that he has a brother, and thinking he is like him, Julius can’t wait and rows himself to the nearest island with an airport for a flight to the U.S.

He goes to the orphanage and quickly learns that his brother is not like him at all. Not only did Vincent start the only fire they’d ever had at the orphanage, but he also was kicked out after having had sex with one of the nuns. Vincent’s file is empty, but the Mother Superior (Frances Bay) tells Julius that Vincent is most likely in jail.

And that’s where Julius finds him. Vincent, a small-time crook, has been arrested for unpaid parking tickets. But Vincent doesn’t believe Julius at first but he lets Julius bail him out and get his car released. But that’s where Vincent leaves Julius.

Julius (Arnold Schwarzenegger) saves his twin brother
 Vincent (Danny DeVito) from a loan shark enforcer.

Julius, though, is undeterred and follows Vincent to his place of business, an office where he runs a shady operation by an aware Secretary (Elizabeth Kaitan). But after she’s gone, Vincent is visited by Morris Klane (David Efron), a loan shark enforcer intent on making Vincent pay for being behind on his loan. Julius arrives just in time to save Vincent’s life and subdues Klane. Now Vincent likes Julius and brings him into his inner circle.

Julius helps his brother by unwittingly helping to steal a car.

He uses Julius, who is quite naïve about the real world, to help him steal a car from a garage at the airport. Vincent has a contact, Al Greco (David Caruso), who lets him know that an expensive late-model Cadillac Sedan de Ville has been left. Vincent needs the money he can get for selling the car to a chop shop to help pay off his loans. Telling Julius that he’s there to pick up a car for a friend that’s going to be auctioned to help children, Vincent innocently breaks in, since the keys weren’t left like they were supposed to be. When the car alarm goes off, Julius lifts the car to the right angle to turn it off and then drives Vincent’s car out, his first time to ever drive a car.

Vincent introduces Julius to his girlfriend Linda (Chloe Webb) and her much hotter sister Marnie (Kelly Preston).

Using car phones, Vincent calls Julius and instructs him to stop at a grocery store. Pulling into the parking lot, Julius manages to get the car up onto two wheels before parking. In the store, Vincent runs into his long-suffering girlfriend Linda Mason (Chloe Webb) and her sister Marnie (Kelly Preston). Marnie dislikes Vincent but is taken by muscle-bound Julius.

Over a microwave dinner at home, Vincent shows Julius a document he stole from the orphanage, showing that their mother was alive when he entered the orphanage, but believing that she abandoned him, Vincent has no interest in finding her.

Julius finds one of their possible fathers, Granger (Hugh O'Brien), at an address he had for their mother.

Later, jogging to the address on the document for their mother, Julius finds instead that one of their six fathers Granger (Hugh O’Brien) lives there. He directs Julius to Professor Mitchell Traven (Nehemiah Persoff) at the White Sands lab where the experiment took place.

Meanwhile, Vincent steals a late-model Cadillac Sedan de Ville from airport parking for his chop shop contact. While driving, he plays a cassette tape that is in the player and learns that he has a prototype fuel injector in the trunk that was to be delivered to an industrialist, Beetroot McKinley (Trey Wilson), in Houston. When Vincent calls pretending to be the deliveryman, trying to sweeten, he finds out that the deal is worth five million dollars. Vincent is headed to Houston.

However, the real deliveryman, a mercenary known as Mr. Webster (Marshall Bell), starts looking for Vincent. Webster doesn’t like anyone to have seen his face, so he offs his original employers and Al at the parking garage. Webster pursues Vincent.

Finding out that Vincent is going to Texas, Julius decides that he will go right by Traven’s lab, so he invites himself along on the trip. Then Linda and Marnie arrive with a belated birthday cake for the twins. Linda insists to go along and Marnie wants to go if Julius is going.

Professor Mitchell Traven (Nehemiah Persoff) initially lies to the boys.

When they get to New Mexico, Traven originally lies to the boys, but when Julius gets mad and knocks down the door, Traven changes his tune. He tells them that their mother is alive and living in an art colony outside of Santa Fe.

Finally, with matching outfits, Vincent and Julius are indistinguishable.

Before they leave town, Vincent gets Julius something better than shorts and a t-shirt to wear. They end up in matching outfits, but they are still easily told apart.

The Klane brothers catch up to them, but it doesn't end well.

En route, they stop at a nightclub. On stage is a band which includes Nicolette Larson as the singer and Jeff Beck on guitar. There the Klane brothers, who are already walking wounded after their own encounter with Webster, try again to collect their money from Vincent. And once again, they don’t account for Julius.

Julius is a changed man after one night with Marnie.

That night, while Linda and Vincent get better acquainted, Marnie seeks refuge in Julius’ motel room. Julius starts out on the floor but Marnie joins him and the 35-year-old virgin is no more.

The brothers come to an art colony looking for their mother.

The next morning, they end up at the art colony, where a painter informs them that their mother had died. She leads them back out of the complex and they leave, not realizing that the painter, was, in fact, their mother, Mary Ann (Bonnie Bartlett), who doesn’t believe their story, believing instead that her child died at birth.

Their mother, Mary Ann (Bonnie Bartlett), doesn't believe their story.

When they stop on the road, Vincent decides that the others would be in danger, so he leaves them at the gas station and drives off to Houston. But, of course, Julius has to take chase, catching the first plane he can. In Houston, Julius co-opts a stereotypical Texan car, with longhorns on the grill. He uses his twin ESP, something they haven’t had until now, to find Vincent.

The original deliveryman, Mr. Webster (Marshall Bell), is waiting in Houston.

Vincent is, meanwhile, on his way to make the delivery to McKinley, who gives him the $5 million for the prototype. But moments later, Webster kills McKinley and demands the money from Vincent. Julius arrives in time to thwart Webster and let Vincent escape, but he returns and agrees to give the money to Webster to save his brother’s life.

Julius saves Vincent who, in turn, returns to save him, but Webster decides to kill them both.

But Webster doesn’t like to let people live who have seen his face and decides to kill them. But Julius outsmarts him and buries Webster under a long and heavy chain, apparently killing him.

Mr. Webster is about to get it good.

Fast forward and Vincent has returned the prototype to the rightful owner as well as the $4 million he was paid. Using that money as well as a reward, the brothers start a consulting firm.

At the art colony, Mary Ann is shown a newspaper story about the twins and then suddenly believes they are her sons. She visits Traven and is violent with him for concealing the truth from her.

Next, she tracks her sons down at their workplace and the family is reunited.

At the end, the family is reunited, the boys are married and both couples have twins.

The film ends with Mary Ann with Professor Werner on an outing with her sons and their wives, the Mason sisters. Both couples have had their own sets of twins.

Released on December 9, 1988, Twins would receive mixed to negative reviews on its way to making $216.6 million at the box-office. The film was enough of a success to warrant a reunion of its main stars in Junior (1994) another comedy directed by Reitman.

Schwarzenegger shows that he’s a more versatile actor, but comedy is really not his calling. Twins is sort of like a Saturday Night Live sketch that gets stretched out to a full-length movie. The initial premise is funny, Schwarzenegger and DeVito as twins, but it is the stretching it out to full-length film where the stretch marks show.

The subplot with the stolen prototype helps make this premise feature-length, but the twin ESP seems like a bit of a stretch. It’s not supposed to be a location finder as it is sometimes used here. And if it was truly as strong as the film makes it out to be, then Julius and Vincent would have realized the other existed before now. I’m not saying twins, especially identical, might not have something like ESP, but it’s not something that can be turned on like a light switch. You either have it or you don’t.

The characters do go through changes, no more so that DeVito’s Vincent who not only discovers the strength of family but eventually thrives in it. His cynical approach to the sudden appearance of Julius seems somewhat genuine, as would most anyone if someone like Schwarzenegger showed up at your doorstep claiming to be your long lost never-knew-you-existed sibling.

This is not to say there are not some funny moments, but there are also several murders by a psychopath which seem like an odd element for what is supposed to be a laugh-out-loud comedy. It can be done, I’m thinking Keanu (2016), but it is still a risk that doesn’t always pay off.

While there are some funny moments in Twins, the film has not aged all that well. There is an 80’s vibe to the film, including a rather forgettable theme song, that scream that this is a film from another time. If you’re a die-hard fan of Schwarzenegger’s or DeVito’s, then you will want to see Twins. Otherwise, this may not be the film for you.

If you like Twins, then you might also like Powers Squared, a comic book about college-age twins who were granted awesome powers when they were young. Written by the writers of Trophy Unlocked and available through our website's store in print and digital.