Hangover Square (1945)

A promising classical musician finds his life poisoned by a music hall dancer -- and by the strange gaps in his memory.

Director:

John Brahm

Writers:

Barré Lyndon (screenplay), Patrick Hamilton (novel),

Stars:

Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell, George Sanders

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laird Cregar	...	George Harvey Bone
Linda Darnell	...	Netta Longdon
George Sanders	...	Dr. Allan Middleton
Glenn Langan	...	Eddie Carstairs
Faye Marlowe	...	Barbara Chapman
Alan Napier	...	Sir Henry Chapman

Storyline

George Harvey Bone is a composer in early 20th century London, who is under stress because he is writing a piano concerto. Due to this stress, he gets black outs when ever he hears dissonances. When he finds himself after the black out in a different quarter of the town, he returns home, to read in the paper that somebody in that quarter was murdered. Asking help from a doctor at Scotland Yard he is assured that he has nothing to do with it, but he is advised to cut back in his work and get some relaxation like other, ordinary people. At a cheap musical he meets Netta, a singer, who inspires him for a new motive for his concerto. But Netta discovers that this motive could also be used as a song for her. The song gets sold, and she hangs around George to get more songs out of him. George believes that Netta is in love with him, and gets in an argument with his girlfriend Barbara, the daughter of Lord Henry, who wants the concerto for one of his souares. George has another black out, ...

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | scotland yard | piano | singer | composer | 

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Taglines:

THE SCREEN'S MOST Terrifying LOVE STORY! EXCITING MYSTERY AND STRANGE EMOTION! (original print ad - mostly caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1945 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Concerto Fantástico

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is cited by Stephen Sondheim as inspiration for writing "Sweeney Todd."

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Goofs

The date of the action is 1899 but a theatre programme is dated 1903.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Street Vendor: Look! It's old Ogilby's place!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits: This is the story of George Harvey Bone who resided at number 12 Hangover Square, London SW in the early part of the twentieth century. The British Catalogue of Music lists him as a distinguished composer...

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Connections

Referenced in Myra Breckinridge (1970)

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Soundtracks

"Have You Seen Joe?"
(uncredited)
Music by Lionel Newman
Lyrics by Charles Henderson
Performed by Linda Darnell

User Reviews

A forgotten but enjoyable thriller

Though it's virtually impossible to find a copy of this buried treasure, it's worth a fair bit of digging. (The film is available on tape only, in mediocre print condition, and carried by only a handful of rental stores in the country.) It's not a brilliant film, but it has some virtuoso camera work that one would never expect to find in a filmi of its type. (Watch for the camera shot in the first seconds of the film that swings quickly up from a crowded street, through a window, and into a tight

closeup of the face of a man about to be killed - very impressive.) This is the type of film one can imagine Martin Scorsese taking an interest in - a skillful, craftsmanlike film overlooked by all but a few film buffs. The performances as well, especially Laird Cregar's, are terrific.