I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone

Writers:

Steve Fisher (novel)
Dwight Taylor (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 October 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Why is Inspector Ed Cornell trying to railroad Frankie Christopher for the murder of model Vicky Lynn?

Plot Keywords:

Promoter | Police | Sister | Inspector | Murder

Cast

Betty Grable	...	Jill Lynn
Victor Mature	...	Frankie Christopher (Botticelli)
Carole Landis	...	Vicky Lynn
Laird Cregar	...	Police Insp. Ed Cornell
William Gargan	...	Jerry 'Mac' MacDonald
Alan Mowbray	...	Robin Ray
Allyn Joslyn	...	Larry Evans
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Harry Williams
Chick Chandler	...	Reporter
Cyril Ring	...	Reporter
Morris Ankrum	...	Assistant District Attorney
Charles Lane	...	Keating, Florist
Frank Orth	...	Cemetery Caretaker
Gregory Gaye	...	Headwaiter
May Beatty	...	Lady Handel (as Mae Beatty)

Also Known As:

Hot Spot (UK) (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7647) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

During most of the shooting, the production was called "Hot Spot".

Goofs:

Continuity: During the nightclub scene, Frankie removes a price tag from Vicky's glove that wasn't in previous shots.

Quotes:

Robin Ray: Women are all alike!
Larry Evans: For Pete's sake, what difference does that make? You've got to have them, they're standard equipment.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Betty Grable: Behind the Pin-up" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Over the Rainbow

Absorbing, Ambiguous Noir

Evocatively directed by Bruce Humberstone, this absorbing early film noir contains a surface sheen, polished elegance, and haunting ambiguity that anticipate similar noirs by Otto Preminger. Its cast of unusual actors and all-time greats is uniformly excellent. Betty Grable is quite revealing and capable of expressing a genuine human emotion in the rare dramatic role of Jill Lynn, the sister of the slain victim Vicky (Carole Landis). Victor Mature looks suitable for his part. Laird Cregar (who would later play the Devil in Lubitsch's "Heaven Can Wait") may be the most memorable character in the film; he is truly scary as the corrupt detective investigating the murder case. Director Humberstone's way of handling the two disjointed flashback structures in the beginning, narrated by Mature & Grable in their two separate rooms is quite intriguing and masterful. The film has a way of surprising us with its captivating twists and revelations, never failing to arouse the viewer's imagination. One of the most enjoyable noirs of the 40s.