Andrew Stone – 1953
– USA
Unexceptional early
50s potboiler that works neither as a 40s film noir nor as a hard-hitting
50s-era crime drama. It features Joseph
Cotten doing what he does best, being the earnest and grouchy investigator; in
this case trying to prove that his sister-in-law has poisoned her husband and
child, and may be trying to poison a second child. Aside from the unambiguous presentation of
interfamily violence – somewhat new in an era when the suburban nuclear family
was still developing – the film is pretty by-the-numbers and lacks any kind of
flair in terms of cinematic direction.
Everything is presented as flatly and matter-of-factly as you can
imagine, which – then, as now – is only tolerable if the material is brilliant
and spellbinding.
No comments:
Post a Comment