Alias Nick Beal (1949)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

Jonathan Latimer (screenplay)
Mildred Lord (original story)

Release Date:

4 March 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

No man ever held more terrible power over women than this tall dark handsome stranger from nowhere!

Plot:

A district attorney rises to political success and the governorship but loses his sense of morality once he starts associating with the shadowy and perhaps diabolical Nick Beal.

Plot Keywords:

District Attorney | Satan | Governor | Satanic | Murder

Cast

Ray Milland	...	Nick Beal
Audrey Totter	...	Donna Allen
Thomas Mitchell	...	Joseph Foster
George Macready	...	Rev. Thomas Garfield
Fred Clark	...	Frankie Faulkner
Geraldine Wall	...	Martha Foster
Henry O'Neill	...	Judge Ben Hobbs
Darryl Hickman	...	Larry Price
Nestor Paiva	...	Karl
King Donovan	...	Peter Wolfe
Charles Evans	...	Paul Norton
Ernö Verebes	...	Mr. Cox, the Tailor
Arlene Jenkins	...	Aileen
Pepito Pérez	...	Poster Man
Joey Ray	...	Tommy Ray

Also Known As:

Dark Circle (USA) (working title)
The Contact Man (UK)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

A marquee from Loew's Delancy Theater (NYC) showing this film is shown near the end of The Naked City (1948) behind actor Paul Ford.

Quotes:

Bum: Yes brethren, every word is true. I've walked in the darkness, glory be. I've wrestled the Devil and thrown him. I've pinned his shoulders to the mat. Yes, I've pinned his shoulders to the mat.
Nick Beal: I wonder if he knows it's two falls out of three?

Soundtrack:

A Mighty Fortress

Offbeat and well-done psychological drama.

Nick Beal (not his real name) has a haunting way of whistling in the fog, in which he seems at home. It's a symbol of the mystery of the man, which softly, like the fog itself, reveals itself to us. There are absorbing scenes involving Ray Milland's interplays with George Macready, Thomas Mitchell and Audrey Totter, and there is Franz Waxman's soundtrack score, all contributing to the mood of apprehension which prevails throughout in this quiet study of power. Anything said further here would reveal what we soon learn of .... well, of the man who whistles. Highly recommended.