Open Secret (1948)

Director:

John Reinhardt

Writers:

Henry Blankfort (screenplay)
Ted Murkland (story)

Release Date:

14 February 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Dynamite Drama!...will smash you right between the eyes!

Plot:

Newlyweds come to visit groom's friend, only to discover him missing; and their investigation uncovers evidence of a ring of anti-semites terrorizing the neighborhood. |

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Anti Semitism | Beautiful Woman

Cast

John Ireland	...	Paul Lester
Jane Randolph	...	Nancy Lester
Sheldon Leonard	...	Detective Sgt. Mike Frontelli
Roman Bohnen	...	Roy Locke
George Tyne	...	Harry Strauss
Morgan Farley	...	Larry Mitchell
Ellen Lowe	...	Mae Locke
Arthur O'Connell	...	Carter
Rory Mallinson	...	Chuck Hill
Bert Conway	...	Mace
John Alvin	...	Ralph
Charles Waldron Jr.	...	Ed Stevens
Anne O'Neal	...	Miss Tristram
King Donovan	...	Fawnes, Bigot Gang Member
Leo Kaye	...	Fatso, the bartender

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12757)

Company:

Harry Brandt Productions

Trivia:

'King Donovon''s first movie.

Low Budget Noir Thriller plus Antisemitism

"Open Secret" certainly owes a debt to "Crossfire," which came out a year earlier, but it stands on its own low-budget merits as not only a solid entry into the small field of 1940s films that dealt openly with racial and religious prejudice, but a very respectable noir thriller. The sets are simple, and there is no location footage at all -- but the director made up for that lack by using a great cast of character actors to portray some very hard-bitten men, women, and children, and, more unusually, he used sound in a dramatic way that continually moves the story forward while keeping the viewer in a state of jangled nervousness. Oh, yeah, its a very cool movie about antisemitism, of course; that goes without saying. But if you want to see it in purely filmic terms and don't care about the "message," it is equally cool. Watch for the fine low-key lighting and strange angle shots -- one of the best set-ups is Sheldon Leonard lounging akilter on a couch in his entry scene with a hugely close-up lamp and telephone in the foreground -- but also LISTEN for the doors opening and closing, telephones ringing, people screaming, sirens, noisy children, mumbling landlady, things dropping, drawers slamming; the sound effects are almost a Hitchcokian element in their own right. And pay attention to the continually changing status of the apartment door -- locked, unlocked, oops she forgot the key, locked, oops she left it open! -- there is a rhythmic and frightening quality to the door's continually shifting security status that is heightened by the always jarring sounds of intrusive door knockings and unexpected telephone rings. Considering what these folks had to work with, i think they succeeded admirably.