IMDb > The Dark Corner (1946)

The Dark Corner (1946) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   1,107 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Jay Dratler (screenplay) and
Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay) ...
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Contact:

View company contact information for The Dark Corner on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

9 April 1946 (USA) more

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama more

Tagline:

Save your lipstick, girls, he plays for keeps.

Plot:

Secretary tries to help her boss, who is framed for a murder. full summary | add synopsis

User Comments:

Framed! And it's NOT for a new house! more (56 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Lucille Ball ... Kathleen Stewart
Clifton Webb ... Hardy Cathcart
William Bendix ... Stauffer, alias Fred Foss
Mark Stevens ... Bradford Galt
Kurt Kreuger ... Anthony Jardine
Cathy Downs ... Mari Cathcart
Reed Hadley ... Lt Frank Reeves
Constance Collier ... Mrs. Kingsley
Eddie Heywood ... Himself (as Eddie Heywood and His Orchestra)
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Additional Details

Runtime:

99 min | 95 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:Approved (certificate #11435)


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

This film with many acclaimed actors could be considered a "Who's Who" of 1950's TV Included are Lucille Ball ("I Love Lucy"), 'William Bendix' ("The Life Of Riley"), _Reed Hadley_ ("Racket Squad" and "Public Defender"), Mark Stevens ("Big Town") and Cathy Downs (Ann Howe of "The Joe Palooka Story"). more

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in film where Kathleen is seen looking out of the back window of the taxi, she is clearly wearing a ring on her left hand. In all other scenes, like when dancing at the nightclub with Bradford, she is not wearing any ring on the left hand. However, throughout the film, she consistently is wearing a ring on her right hand little finger. more

Quotes:

Kathleen: What's done to you is done to me. more

Movie Connections:

References The Thin Man (1934) more

Soundtrack:

Give Me the Simple Life more


FAQ

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24 out of 31 people found the following comment useful.
Framed! And it's NOT for a new house!, 17 September 2001
8/10
Author: tommythek from Bolingbrook, Illinois

Sometimes it seems like it's impossible to avoid being framed for murder. I think we've all had that experience, haven't we? That certainly is Bradford Galt's (Mark Stevens) problem in "The Dark Corner." I should say, it is ONE of his problems. That, along with being constantly annoyed by the cops and assorted bad guys. It's just one of the hazards that come with being a private eye. If you don't believe that, just ask Humphrey Bogart. Among others!

But there can be benefits, too. And in this case, one of the benefits is having the beautiful Kathleen (Lucille Ball) for your ... uh ... private secretary. Furthermore, it can be doubly beneficial when you and your "private secretary" become romantically involved. This role -- Kathleen -- is, I think, one of Lucy's very best from her lengthy pre-"I Love Lucy" movie career. She's beautiful (oh, I said that), she's charming, she's bright (quite un-Lucylike) and, perhaps most important for a private snoop, she helps her man Brad extricate himself from more than one tight spot. And, she's beautiful!

As for those aforementioned annoying bad guys, we have William Bendix and Clifton Webb on hand to annoy His Snoopness. The former THINKS he's a lot tougher than he really is. Better had he known that a tough guy gets much further being the other way around. As for the latter, he, apparently, didn't learn his lesson in "Laura" two years earlier. Too bad. For him.

One of the mildly amusing aspects to this film is Brad's use, perhaps as many as half a dozen times, of the word "shagged." Thanks to "Austin Powers," we now have a new 21st century meaning for that word. But in 1946, in THIS movie, it meant something completely different. And neither meaning has anything to do with rugs. Ahhh, language.

I also find it interesting that the star of this movie (Mark Stevens) took fourth billing. True, although he was both a known and a competent actor, he was never a star of the magnitude of, say, the aforementioned H.B. Which makes me wonder if Henry Hathaway (the director) and Fred Kohlmar (the producer) had a big-name star in mind for the main role but were unable to land same. Thus, did they have to "settle for" Stevens? It would be interesting to learn the background of the casting of this movie and how Stevens came to get the main role and why he was given just fourth billing.

Even so, "The Dark Corner," WITH Mark Stevens, is still one of the better film noirs of the 1940s. And watch out the next time somebody tries to frame you for murder. Maybe it won't be a movie!

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Dark Corner (1946)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Silly, Disappointing Movie m60green
Mark Stevens tag65
I missed something? Clifton Webb's character. puzzle_queen
Lucille Ball clarencejr
Surprisingly good flick ...an overlooked gem. RoperCapeCod
The Story theme najma_i
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