High Wall (1947)

After a brain-damaged man confesses to murder and is committed, Dr. Ann Lorrison tries to prove his innocence.

Director:

Curtis Bernhardt

Writers:

Sydney Boehm (screenplay), Lester Cole (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Taylor	...	Steven Kenet
Audrey Totter	...	Dr. Ann Lorrison
Herbert Marshall	...	Willard I. Whitcombe
Dorothy Patrick	...	Helen Kenet
H.B. Warner	...	Mr. Slocum
Warner Anderson	...	Dr. George Poward
Moroni Olsen	...	Dr. Philip Dunlap
John Ridgely	...	David Wallace (as John Ridgeley)
Morris Ankrum	...	Dr. Stanley Griffin
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Mrs. Kenet
Vince Barnett	...	Henry Cronner
Jonathan Hale	...	Emory Garrison
Charles Arnt	...	Sidney X. Hackle
Ray Mayer	...	Tom Delaney
Robert Hyatt	...	Richard Kenet (as Bobby Hyatt)

Storyline

Steven Kenet, suffering from a recurring brain injury, appears to have strangled his wife. Having confessed, he's committed to an understaffed county asylum full of pathetic inmates. There, Dr. Ann Lorrison is initially skeptical about Kenet's story and reluctance to undergo treatment. But against her better judgement, she begins to doubt his guilt, and endangers her career on a dangerous quest through dark streets awash with rain.

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Plot Keywords:

asylum | murder | psychiatrist | amnesiac war veteran | kitten | 

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Taglines:

So tense! So taut! It closes in on you like a high wall!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anklage - Mord

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Home on the Range"
(uncredited)
Written by Daniel E. Kelley

User Reviews

Much more than an overrated 'B' movie...

THE HIGH WALL gives Robert Taylor a chance to demonstrate that he was a very capable actor and much more than just a pretty face. Audrey Totter, as a psychiatrist who decides to help him prove he did not kill his wife, makes a strong impression opposite him. And Herbert Marshall is quietly effective as a mysterious man who knows the truth.

All of it is directed in brisk film noir fashion by Curtis Bernhardt with the accent on dark shadows and rainy streets to give it the proper noir atmosphere.

Rather than tell the plot, I'll just say that the story moves swiftly and keeps the viewer absorbed from start to finish. It's a well-paced thriller that makes use of psychiatric trends that may date the film today--but it's all done with such authority that whatever script contrivances are present don't really matter. It's intense and absorbing all the way in true film noir style. Taylor has seldom been more convincing as the distraught bomber pilot trying to find out whether he killed his wife or not.