Phantom Lady (1944)

Unhappily married Scott Henderson spends the evening on a no-name basis with a hat-wearing woman he picked up in a bar. Returning home, he finds his wife strangled and becomes the prime ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis

Cast

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

Storyline

Unhappily married Scott Henderson spends the evening on a no-name basis with a hat-wearing woman he picked up in a bar. Returning home, he finds his wife strangled and becomes the prime suspect in her murder. Every effort to establish his alibi fails; oddly no one seems to remember seeing the phantom lady (or her hat). In prison, Scott gives up hope but his faithful secretary, "Kansas," doggedly follows evanescent clues through shadowy nocturnal streets. Can she save Scott in time?

---

Plot Keywords:

secretary | murder | prison | bar | hat | 

---

Taglines:

The most talked about mystery in ten years!

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

28 January 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Condemned to Hang

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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

During the theatre visit, near the beginning of the film (c.5 minutes), we hear a loud and isolated cymbal crash but the percussionist/kit player does not move at all at this point. It is inconceivable that a pit orchestra would employ a second percussion player and the plot-reason for this isolated cymbal crash is clearly that the drummer (Cliff) is distracted by the "Phantom Lady" in the audience.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Ann Terry: [to bartender] Give me a nickel, please.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

---

Soundtracks

"Chick-ee-Chick"
(1944) (uncredited)
Music by Jacques Press
Lyrics by Eddie Cherkose
Performed by Aurora Miranda and showgirls at the Casino

User Reviews

A Dark Treat

Sadly not available on DVD as yet, but worth pursuing on TCM or VHS. A secretary believes her boss is wrongly accused of murder, and courageously takes on many dangerous characters in an effort to establish the truth. A movie with many twists and dark alleyways, none of which I will mention! The jazz band sequence where our heroine seeks the information about the killer, is one of the most erotic scenes in Hollywood history, despite being at very low budget and made during WWII in black and white. Despite the low budget - Long Island looks somewhat mountainous - this is a movie of original style and outstanding vision. Ella Raines was a great actress discovered by Howard Hawks who knew much about these matters, casting the feistiest women - Joanne Dru, Hepburn, Angie Dickinson, Lauren Bacall, Ann Sheridan - of their era. Robert Siodmak was of one of several German, Hungarian & Czech film-makers - Sirk, Wilder, Zinnemann, Lubitsch, Curtiz,Lang, etc - who émigrés relocated to Hollywood, and brought a highly original fresh vision with them. Sadly Ella Raines was never given such a great part again, and eventually ended up in poorly produced westerns.