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67 reviews in total

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62 out of 64 people found the following review useful:
Ball, Webb, Bendix and Stevens in satisfying - and smashing looking - noir, 30 August 2003

Author: bmacv from Western New York

It's a loss to the noir cycle that Lucille Ball never got to exercise her widely underestimated acting (as opposed to comedic) skills as a femme fatale; she might have gained entry to the Bad Girls' Club. She did, however, lend her welcome presence to three film noir: Two Smart People, Lured, and, the first and best of them, The Dark Corner.

She plays the new, spunky receptionist to private eye Mark Stevens (and gets top billing; logically the star, Stevens comes only fourth in the titles). Once framed into a manslaughter charge in San Francisco, Stevens has come east to start over with a clean slate. But he's being measured for an even bigger frame. White-suited William Bendix is the cat's-paw in a plot to goad Stevens into murdering the old partner who set him up (Kurt Kreuger).

Kreuger, however, isn't even aware that Stevens is out of prison and in New York; he's too busy romancing the young wife (Cathy Downs) of rich art-gallery owner Clifton Webb (she sits around bored, listening to `his paintings crack with age'). Webb is the puppet-master behind the elaborate scheme to eliminate his younger, more virile rival. When Stevens comes to on the floor of his apartment with a poker in his hand and Kreuger bludgeoned to death next to him, he, with Ball's help, must race against his inevitable arrest to find the real killer.

The story flits between two Manhattans: The shabby cityscape of penny arcades under the El and flats that open up onto fire escapes, populated by Stevens, Ball and Bendix, and the haut monde of ritzy galleries and high-ceilinged, richly upholstered apartments inhabited by Clift, Downs and Kreuger. Spanning the gap is the unholy alliance between the coarse Bendix and the p***-elegant Webb, reprising his Bitter Old Queen number from Laura and The Razor's Edge (though again, as in Laura, we're asked to swallow his obsession with a beautiful...woman half his age).

While maintaining a deft balance, the plot weighs in as quite a brutal one (Webb's quick dispatch of Bendix proves quite startling). Despite this role and The Street With No Name, Stevens never quite became the noir icon - like Ladd or Bogart or Mitchum (or even like Powell or Ford or Ryan) he seemed destined for, but he's persuasive enough as a man strained to the limit by forces he can't fathom.

Henry Hathaway directed, but the black magic comes courtesy of cinematographer Joe MacDonald. He ably lighted a number of estimable noirs (Street With No Name, Call Northside 777, Pickup on South Street), but here his work surpasses itself. When Ball and Stevens embrace, he turns a two-shot into a four-shot by placing them in front of a fireplace mirror; we see her face in the foreground, his in reflection. In plot, writing and direction, The Dark Corner falls just short of the finest entries in the cycle. But in its strikingly composed photography, finely filigreed with shadow, it could be shown at a gala opening in Webb's high-priced gallery.

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43 out of 44 people found the following review useful:
Neat Noir Thriller, 14 December 2002
Author: harry-76 from Cleveland, Ohio

"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.

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33 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
I'll take the Donatello. Wrap it up!, 18 April 2005

Author: jotix100 from New York

"The Dark Corner" turned up the other night on cable. This is a film that should be seen more often. For one, we get great views of the New York of 40s. Most of the action was photographed, brilliantly, one must add, by Joe MacDonald with the old 3rd. Avenue El as a background. Henry Hathaway's direction was inspired.

Brad Galt, the gumshoe at the center of the story, has come to New York to get away from an unsavory past in San Francisco. He was on the right track in establishing the detective agency he runs, helped by his attractive gal Friday, Kathleen. Trouble seems to find Brad, no matter where he goes. When the apish Fred Foss appears, dressed in a white suit, we know we're in for a rough ride.

Brad is being framed, but he has no clue, except to think, Jardine, the suave lawyer, is responsible for it. Little does he know there are higher ups that want to pin a murder on Galt. With the help of his kind secretary, Kathleen, this pair embark in a voyage of discovery where a few surprises await them.

"The Dark Corner" is a fine example of a film noir, enhanced by the background shots of Manhattan. Mark Stevens, as Brad, makes a good attempt to portray Brad Galt, the man who wants to play it straight after his run in with the law. The biggest surprise of the film was the wonderful Lucille Ball playing the secretary. Ms. Ball was an accomplished actress who was basically seen in comedy, but as this film shows, she could play anything.

Clifton Webb turns up as Cathcart, the art gallery owner. There is a great scene at the vault where some art pieces are kept, after taking a few clients to see the new Raffael (that looks it could have been painted on velvet), Cathcart sees the shadows of his wife, and his partner in crime, Jardine, in a passionate embrace as both kiss. The other great moment in the film also involves the art gallery. When Brad, who has finally arrived at the gallery late, asks the assistant how much would the Donatello statue would cost, and she answers "Forty Thousand". After that, he asks her how much would the pedestal would cost! Obviously, he couldn't afford either the work of art, or where it rested! In minor roles, William Bendix makes an impression in playing the evil Fred Foss. Kurt Kreuger is seen as Jardine and Cathy Downs plays the deceiving wife, Mari.

"The Dark Corner" is a film that will not disappoint the viewer, thanks to Henry Hathaway's direction and the work of this cast, but especially watch out for Ms. Ball, she does amazing work!

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35 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
Everything a film noir should be, 11 February 2001
Author: jann-6

This is a perfect little film noir, it's everything a film noir is supposed to be. Lucille Ball is great (I echo the sentiments of the person who said she should have done more of this type of film.) She's not a femme fatale, she's a completely innocent heroine; perhaps a little unusual in film noir, but it works. The use of light and dark, some terrific camera angles, and a somewhat confusing plot make this a superb example of this genre. One wonders why this film is not better known; it should be.

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33 out of 41 people found the following review useful:
Great little-known film-noir, 24 January 2001
Author: veronicadellagissi

Watched this on American Movie Classics the other day ... what a great surprise. Witty dialogue with lots of clever innuendo, murky (but not annoyingly so) plot, and stark, moody lighting set the scene for the "typical" noir scenario in which the smart-cookie secretary (Lucille Ball) saves the private eye's hide. The costumes are also wonderful -- 1940s glamour all the way, from Lucy's tailored suits to the rich wife's evening gowns and nightie (gasp!).

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29 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Framed! And it's NOT for a new house!, 17 September 2001

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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20 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
Backed Up In a Dark Corner, 10 April 2007

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The private investigator Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) has just moved from San Francisco, where he was framed by his former partner Anthony Jardine (Kurt Kreuger) and unfairly spent two years in jail, to a well located office of his own in New York, where he works with his efficient, witty and very beautiful secretary Kathleen (Lucille Ball). When he invites Kathleen to date and have dinner with him, they see a man wearing a white suit (William Bendix) in their tail. Brad holds the man that tells that he is also a private investigator called Fred Foss and hired by Jardine to follow him. When a car almost hit Brad on the street, he visits and argues with Jardine, who is also a seducer of married women, and they fight. Later, when Jardine is murdered in his apartment, Brad realizes that he was framed. His only lead is the man of white suit, and with the support of Kathleen, they try to find the unknown man to discover who is behind the murder of Jardine.

In the atmosphere of New York in the 40's, "The Dark Corner" has a perfect direction, with the development of the characters in a great screenplay with some magnificent lines (I love Brad telling Cathcart's assistant that he would take the Donatello and asking her to wrap it up.) and a wonderful cinematography. The use of shadows is impressive, highlighting the faces and spaces, like for example when Hardy Cathcart sees his young wife kissing Jardine in the safe. Mark Stevens and Lucille Ball show a perfect chemistry and the villains are very realist in this unknown but first-rate film-noir. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Envolto Nas Sombras" ("Enveloped in the Shadows")

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23 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
Improves on acquaintance, 5 September 2001
Author: lucy-66 from London

Worth watching several times. Great b/w photography and the music is always playing on a radio or being plonked out by a child learning the piano--I mean the characters aren't followed around by an invisible orchestra. Love the office under the elevated railway. Some good lines too. As Galt's coffee cup falls from his trembling fingers he says something like 'I'm a tower of strength with nerves of steel!' xxxxxxxxx

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18 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Lucy's Best Dramatic Role?, 13 August 2006

Author: theowinthrop from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Lucille Ball did something novel for 1950s television. Halfway through the phenomenal run of I LOVE LUCY, she moved the New York City based story line to Hollywood and this allowed her to make a series of shows with guests. Many had not appeared with her in film. Several did appear in movies with her: Harpo Marx (ROOM SERVICE) and William Holden (MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMONE). But one figure did not appear who one misses. Clifton Webb.

To be fair neither did Mark Stevens (Ball's co-star) nor William Bendix (then in his own rival television show, THE LIFE OF RILEY). Still it is odd that Webb never showed up. The only clue I have ever found about this I heard about year or so ago: in the 1930s Webb was in a Broadway show with William Frawley, and the two had some type of run-in, leading to Frawley punching Webb in the face. Possibly Lucy felt that made such a casting impossible.

Webb had made his memorable entry into film in 1944 as Waldo Lydecker in LAURA. Then nothing happened for two years. Then he made THE DARK CORNER and the first version of THE RAZOR'S EDGE. His role as Hardy Cathcart, the wealthy art and antique dealer is rather like that of Lydecker. Cathcart is, basically, an effete interior decorator, with a trophy wife (Cathy Downs) rather than an effete newspaper/radio personality and critic with a trophy friend.

There are differences though. Waldo is one of several suspects in LAURA. But in THE DARK CORNER, we are quickly aware of the villain of the piece: Cathcart is planning to frame detective Bradford Galt (Stevens) for the murder of Anthony Jardine (Kurt Krueger) who once framed Galt in California. Jardine has been carrying on an affair with Mari Cathcart, thus exciting her husband's anger. Cathcart sees that Galt is a perfect patsy. He uses a crooked private eye named Stauffer(William Bendix) to set up Galt to be left in his rooms with the body of Jardine. Galt's only hope is his secretary and lover Kathleen (Lucille Ball) who can help gather information when the police are looking for the hiding Galt.

Like many film noir (including LAURA and DOUBLE INDEMNITY) if one looks at the plot carefully there are so many holes in it as to make anyone putting it into effect look insane. Why go to such an elaborate plan against Jardine and Galt, when it is simpler to just make Jardine disappear? You double the chances of a plan failing if you actually complicate it's mechanism with some type of frame-up as attempted here.

Yet the film works. Lucy never played a female girl Friday in any other major film, and this may be her best performance, especially when describing the confused feelings she has regarding the dire situation she and her lover are in. Only her performances in LURED and THE BIG STREET may have been better dramatic ones, but the former was a remake of a better French thriller, and the latter was marred by too much garrulousness and sentimentality (although some of the color from Daman Runyon's stories and characters was a plus).

Also, the film benefited from Stevens as the gumshoe, who worked well with Lucy. They genuinely seem concerned about each other's safety. Cathy Downs' Mari Cathcart is more limited, spending much of her screen footage mourning the loss of her lover, and only coming out of it (with deadly results) at the conclusion of the film.

Bendix always gave competent and expert performances, and his sleazy detective is unexpectedly realistic (even if the plot against Stevens is not). He turns out to be a tough customer, even willingly accepting a working over by Stevens before knocking him out when setting him up. But for all his toughness he turns out to be surprisingly too trusting and naive regarding his boss. As for the boss, Webb makes the art dealer seem quite untrustworthy and blasé from the first, when he comments on not liking the grass in the morning as it looks like it has been left out all night.

But my favorite piece of business in the film is a joke scene of Bendix and Webb plotting mischief. Webb has insisted that Bendix not see him in his office (he wants no witness showing up who saw Bendix at his office). But Bendix has insisted on visiting him inside his office. Webb sees no possible way out, and they are in his office. All around are these costly antiques, but Bendix does not care. He is smoking his cigarette, while Webb stares at him with anger and fear. He does not recall planning to let the Detective invade his personal office. So Webb listens while Bendix spells out why he needs more cash. But gradually we see Webb's eye wander away from Bendix's face to his hand and that cigarette with the growing ash. Finally, Webb blows up - he won't continue talking to Bendix until he puts the cigarette out in the ash tray on his desk. You see, he does not want the idiot to drop an ash on the antique Persian carpet on the floor! That is more important than Bendix's bellyaching about fleeing town, and needing cash.

It was a neat follow-up to Laura. And then came THE RAZOR'S EDGE, which allowed Webb to play his high strung heroes/anti-heroes for laughs. After 1946 (as I said earlier) the job offers were far more frequent than they had been. Webb's star was now in ascendants.

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13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
A Study In Contrasts, 5 April 2006
Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas

Mark Stevens plays Bradford Galt, a depressed, New York City private investigator who is trying to forget his troubled past. But someone is tailing Galt for reasons unknown. Lucille Ball adds charm and flair to the story as Galt's faithful, resourceful secretary who invites herself into the detective's dilemma, which eventually leads to a wealthy art collector named Cathcart, played by the suave, and always engaging, Clifton Webb. It's a sordid tale of deceit and murder, expressed visually in typical 1940's film-noir style.

Galt's surroundings are drab and dreary, in marked contrast to the lush, opulent environment of Cathcart and his elitist friends. Director Henry Hathaway leaves no doubt as to where his sympathies lie. It's the late 1940s, and the proletariat class, represented by Galt, is honest and hard working, and up against society's corrupt rich.

In contrast to other film detectives of that era, like Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade, Galt is somewhat plaintive and vulnerable, but these traits make him more sympathetic, even though he can deliver a mean punch when called for.

The film's high-contrast B&W cinematography is striking. It emphasizes harsh lighting, deep shadows, and two-dimensional silhouettes. This visual style, together with occasional sounds of jazz, conveys a dissonance we would expect in a post-WWII environment of the urban underworld. When combined with a story of one man up against sinister forces, these cinematic elements, taken as a whole, communicate a philosophy of existentialism.

For viewers who like heavy-duty 1940's noir films with interesting characters, good acting, and striking cinematography, "The Dark Corner" is one of the better choices.

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