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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Unusual Lucy
This is Lucy in a dramatic role. It showcases her talent very well. Male lead would have been better played by Dana Andrews but otherwise good Film Noir.
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So-so story.
Don't get me wrong, I love noir whether it's books or film. I think Lucille Ball was terrific in this film. In fact, she's so much better than the story and the awful acting of Mark Stevens, that I'd say she was wasted. The story is weak, there are no real surprises except one: Director Hathaway somehow managed not to create any tension at all. No tension, no sexual chemistry between the leads, and Kreuger was a vanilla villain -- I couldn't work up any feelings about him one way or the other. Not only that but the pacing is truly sluggish. Clifton Webb could have phoned in his performance, it's pretty much the same one he did in 'Laura,' except for that nifty bit of murder he performed on William Bendix, which was done in Webb's inimitably urbane style. It's a watchable movie, but if you have to take a phone call in the middle of it you're not going to miss any great moments.
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The Light and the Dark
This is one of those movies in which, among the principals, no two acting styles are alike. It shouldn't work, you think, but somehow it does. It's a satisfying little mid-forties Fox noir, well directed by Henry Hathaway.
Mark Stevens is private eye Bradford Galt. He has a small office with one secretary, Kathleen, played by Lucille Ball. During the prelude to their developing romance, they find that they're being shadowed by "the man in the white suit," played by William Bendix. Except that Bendix ("Fred Foss") doesn't stay in the shadows and he's wearing a WHITE SUIT--even the secretary spots the tail. After luring Foss into his office, Galt conducts a roughhouse interview; Foss spills the name "Jardine" as the baddie who hired him: Galt's former partner, who had tried to kill him several years earlier but only succeeded in framing him and getting him sent to the slammer. Galt, free again, thinks Jardine may have plans to finish the job.
William Bendix is, as usual, terrific. He's a palpably slimy presence, but his acting is never over the top. His pug mug and his soft, sandy voice are far more menacing than his actual dialogue. Like most baby boomers, I first knew Bendix as Chester A. Riley on TV. Later on, watching him play sadistic hoods (first in THE GLASS KEY), I had no trouble accepting the transformation. For some reason, I couldn't make the switch with Lucille Ball. She is and always will be Lucy McGillicuddy Ricardo. As Kathleen in THE DARK CORNER, she seems to be marking time. In her defense, the role is relatively colorless: she gives Mark Stevens someone to talk to, kiss, send on errands, and so on, but her character isn't as essential--or as provocative--as that of Cathy Downs, the other beautiful woman in the movie.
Mark Stevens overacts, yet seems right for the part. Kurt Kreuger, Clifton Webb, and Constance Collier are all excellent. Bit parts and walkons reveal other familiar faces: Reed Hadley, playing a smooth detective whose fedora remains firmly clamped down to his eyebrows; Ellen Corby, who gets to scream; John Russell, whom I remember mainly from TV's "Soldiers of Fortune"; and, in a performance sequence, Eddie Heywood, the fine jazz pianist and bandleader.
The real star, however, is Joe MacDonald, the cinematographer. The source print used in the Fox Film Noir DVD is less sharp than I'd anticipated, but the lighting throughout the film is stunning. It does far more than the talky script to establish the mood of each scene, and it makes me want to revisit MacDonald's other noirs-- THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948), CALL NORTHSIDE 777 (1948), and PANIC IN THE STREETS (1950). He also did Ford's MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946), the lovely little Ray Milland comedy, IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING (1949), and many color films from the fifties onward (including HOUSE OF BAMBOO in 1955).
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Not your typical Lucy!
Lucille Ball stars in this film as the secretary for a private investigator. Not her typical comedian role she is best known for. However, I have to admit, she is very convincing in this role. I enjoy film noir and rate this as one of the best of the fox series. A must buy for film noir fans.
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A real Thriller
Henry Hathaway directed a real thriller with THE DARK CORNER. It has a great story. I really liked it. The cinematography is just perfect for the genre.
