The Dark Corner (1946)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Jay Dratler (screenplay) and
Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 April 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

Save your lipstick, girls, he plays for keeps.

Plot:

Secretary tries to help her boss, who is framed for a murder.

Plot Keywords:

White Suit | Secretary | Murder | New York City | Art Gallery

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Colleen Alpaugh	...	Little Girl with Slide Whistle (uncredited)
Charles Cane	...	Policeman at Tony's Apartment (uncredited)
Ellen Corby	...	Maid (uncredited)
Peter Cusanelli	...	Man (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Policeman in Galleries (uncredited)
John Elliott	...	Laundry Proprietor (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Movie Theater Cashier (uncredited)
Alice Fleming	...	Woman (uncredited)
John Goldsworthy	...	Butler (uncredited)
Eugene Goncz	...	Practical Sign Painter (uncredited)
Vincent Graeff	...	Newsboy-Witness (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Man at Hit-Run Attempt (uncredited)
Eloise Hardt	...	Miss Dennis, Saleswoman (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
John Kelly	...	Policeman in Galleries (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Molly Lamont	...	Lucy Wilding (uncredited)
Hope Landin	...	Woman Scrubbing Floor (uncredited)
Thomas Louden	...	Elderly Man (uncredited)
Donald MacBride	...	Policeman in Galleries (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	First Cab Driver (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Henry, the Majordomo (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Milkman (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Tom Monroe	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Mr. Bryson (uncredited)
Steve Olsen	...	Arcade Game Barker (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Policeman on Street (uncredited)
Joe Ploski	...	Deli Extra (uncredited)
Raisa	...	Client Daughter (uncredited)
Isabel Randolph	...	Mrs. Reynolds (uncredited)
John Russell	...	Policeman at Tony's Apartment (uncredited)
Pietro Sosso	...	Man (uncredited)
Douglas Spencer	...	Deli Extra (uncredited)
Frieda Stoll	...	Frau Keller (uncredited)
Charles Tannen	...	Second Cab Driver (uncredited)
Minerva Urecal	...	Client Wife (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim	...	The Real Fred Foss (uncredited)
Regina Wallace	...	Mrs. Bryson (uncredited)
Gisela Werbisek	...	Mrs. Schwartz (uncredited)
Lynn Whitney	...	Stenographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Hathaway

Writing credits
Jay Dratler		(screenplay) and
Bernard C. Schoenfeld		(screenplay) (as Bernard Schoenfeld)
Leo Rosten		(story)

Produced by
Fred Kohlmar	....	producer

Original Music by
Cyril J. Mockridge		(as Cyril Mockridge)

Cinematography by
Joseph MacDonald		(director of photography) (as Joe Mac Donald)

Film Editing by
J. Watson Webb Jr.		(as J. Watson Webb)

Art Direction by
James Basevi
Leland Fuller

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Kay Nelson

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Eckhardt	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Paul S. Fox	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Visual Effects by
Sol Halperin	....	transparency projection shots (uncredited)
Edwin Hammeras	....	transparency projection shots (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kay Nelson	....	costumes
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestral arrangements
Emil Newman	....	musical director
Charles Althouse	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Paul Neal	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Murray Spivack	....	music mixer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century - Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1946) (USA) (theatrical) (released through) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)
• 20th Century Fox (1954) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

99 min | 95 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:Approved (certificate #11435) | Australia:M | UK:PG | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:16 (nf)

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When Kathleen is unsuccessful at following a suspicious character for her boss, she tells him he should have hired William Powell as a secretary instead. Powell played the detective in the Thin Man and Philo Vance movie series.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Fred Foss gets up from the floor after the fight in the apartment, his toupee is clearly standing straight up and you can see the bald spot before he puts his hat on.

Quotes:

Hardy Cathcart:How I detest the dawn. The grass always looks like it's been left out all night.

Movie Connections:

References The Thin Man (1934)

Soundtrack:

Lullaby,

Neat Noir Thriller

"I feel all dead inside . . . backed up in a dark corner . . . and I don't know who's hitting me."

So Mark Stevens' Brad confesses to secretary-girlfriend Lucile Ball's Kathleen.

This particular dark corner has many angles, shadows and turns, as the two go sleuthing in search of an elusive villain--Clifton Webb's Hardy. Along the way Hardy's "hitman," Stauffer (William Bendix) gets the "ax," as the audience maintains rapt attention.

A nicely turned crime script by Jan Drather and Leo Rosten is given slick credibility by Director Henry Hathaway. The "Manhattan Melody" theme, used in so many New York drama films of the 40s, was first heard here. It was part of Cyril Mockridge's original score, so evocative of "big city pre-dawn street scenes" that it became a motif of dozens of similar efforts.

The film also showed what Ball could do in a straight dramatic role, and she proved quite capable of holding her own. Webb, forever "effete personified," offers a polished performance, while Bendix contrasts as the perfect "mug."

A "whodunit" worthy of a studio that produced loads of neat "forties thrillers": 20th Century Fox.