Phantom Lady (1944)

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Cornell Woolrich (novel)
Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 January 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

IT'S UNIQUE...suspense...mystery...drama!

Plot:

Unhappily married Scott Henderson spends the evening on a no-name basis with a hat-wearing woman he picked up in a bar...

Plot Keywords:

Hat | Secretary | Murder | Prison | Bar

Cast

Franchot Tone	...	Jack Marlow
Ella Raines	...	Carol 'Kansas' Richman
Alan Curtis	...	Scott Henderson
Aurora Miranda	...	Estela Monteiro (as Aurora)
Thomas Gomez	...	Inspector Burgess
Fay Helm	...	Ann Terry
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Cliff Milburn
Andrew Tombes	...	Mac - Bartender
Regis Toomey	...	Detective Chewing Gum
Joseph Crehan	...	Detective Tom
Doris Lloyd	...	Madame Kettisha
Virginia Brissac	...	Dr. Helen Chase
Milburn Stone	...	District Attorney (voice)

Also Known As:

Condemned to Hang (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9827) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

After the film's release, Jacques Press and Eddie Cherkose sued Universal for $20,000 for not getting on-screen credit for their song "Chick-ee-Chick."

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During an overhead shot in the sequence where Kansas trails the bartender through a deserted street after he gets off work, the actors are clearly connected waist-to-waist by a thin wire - most likely so that the actress stayed an exact number of feet behind the actor to ensure both were in focus during what was apparently a tricky camera set-up.

Quotes:

Mac: Yes, Miss?
Carol Richman: Pinch-bottle and water.

Movie Connections:

References Swiss Miss (1938)

Soundtrack:

Chick-ee-Chick

At Least The Middle Third Was Excellent

I found this film noir to be odd in that the beginning and the end were both lousy but the middle part was excellent. The "lousy" parts are such because they drag on and are simply boring when they don't have to be. The immediate opening scenes are fine, showing an innocent man, "Scott Henderson" (Alan Curtis) being charged and found guilty of a murder he didn't commit....but then almost nothing happens for the next 20 minutes.

Then comes the good part when Henderson's secretary "Carol 'Kansas' Richmond" (Ella Raines) gets involved, taking it upon herself to find the missing woman who could prove that her boss was innocent. During her pursuit we meet a couple of very interesting characters and we see some outstanding film-noir photography.

The most interesting character, "Cliff," was played by film noir regular Elisha Cook Jr. He has one scene in which he takes Raines to a local warehouse-type room where his jazz band is practicing. Cook then shows off with this drum playing and it is so frenetic, so bizarre that it is almost shocking to watch. You have to see it, to appreciate it. It's a small, insignificant scene but very memorable. A few other minor characters are a bit strange, too.

Thomas Gomez plays a cop ("Inspector Burgess") who winds up helping Raines a bit, and he's good to watch, too.In the end, Raines discovers what's up and is in peril herself. That scene has suspense but is too drawn out. It's like, "okay, already.....let's go on with it!"