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Blind Alley (1939)
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Overview
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
11 May 1939 (USA)
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Plot:
Gangster Hal Wilson takes psychiatrist Dr. Shelby hostage. While captive, the doctor analyzes Wilson as though he were a patient. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
The Shrink and the Screwball
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Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Chester Morris | ... | Hal Wilson |
| Ralph Bellamy | ... | Dr. Shelby |
| Ann Dvorak | ... | Mary |
| Joan Perry | ... | Linda Curtis |
| Melville Cooper | ... | George Curtis |
| Rose Stradner | ... | Doris Shelby |
| John Eldredge | ... | Dick Holbrook (as John Eldridge) |
| Ann Doran | ... | Agnes |
| Marc Lawrence | ... | Buck |
| Stanley Brown | ... | Fred Landis |
| Scotty Beckett | ... | Davy Shelby |
| Milburn Stone | ... | Nick |
| Marie Blake | ... | Harriet |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
69 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #5135) |
USA:TV-PG (TV rating)
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This film was re-made as The Dark Past (1948). It starred Lee J. Cobb as the psychiatrist and William Holden as the killer.
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Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: The gangster's fingers are supposedly paralyzed, but when he pushes the "Insanity and the Criminal Mind" book back onto the shelf, you can clearly see him flick it into place with one of his "paralyzed" fingers.
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Movie Connections:
Version of Blind Alley (1941) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Far Above Cayuga's Waters
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (10 total)
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | IMDb Crime section |
| IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
This thriller isn't a bad way to spend 69 minutes, thanks to some decent acting, a good supporting cast of character players, and fast pacing. But the novelty of psychoanalysis-as-solution has worn off after 70 years, and most modern audiences have heard the "blame the parents" ploy so often that it seems hackneyed. The director includes some special effects which also might have seemed novel at the time but now seem amateurish.
Ralph Bellamy plays a teacher of psychoanalysis who has to put his theories to work on a mad killer who has decided to use the prof's country house as a temporary hideaway. Chester Morris is the trigger-happy escaped con in a part that would have been more compelling with Cagney or Bogie in the role. This adapted play is stage-bound but keeps enough interest going to make you stay put for the explosive ending.
Watch for John "Perry White" Hamilton in a very small, non-speaking part.