In probably the worst titled film of any era, Hedy Lamarr (that's Hedley!) stars in this 1944 noirish melodrama. On a rainy night & during a train ride, a psychiatrist, played by George Brent, meets a fearful traveler who sidles up to him & to calm her nerves, she relates the tale of her sister-in-law, Lamarr, which intrigues him but once he hears about his companion's sudden death, Brent, along w/his friend, played by Ralph Meeker, engages Lamarr & her husband, played by Paul Lukas. During their burgeoning relationship, we find out Lamarr's marriage is an unhappy one w/Lukas seeming to keep Lamarr locked up in her New York brownstone so he decides to become the hero & free her from her moorings but Lukas has made plans to kill them both (including their child) when due to a gas leak, the house will explode to bits. Okay...The usually reliable Jacques Tourneur (Cat People/Out of the Past) helmed this well mounted but ultimately too nonsensical for its own good yarn where strangely the acting, set design & cinematography are all tops but the story itself feels over-baked w/a protag who seems to be involved through all fault of his own. An interesting misfire but a misfire none the less.
Review of Experiment Perilous
