Tension (1949)

Director:

John Berry

Writers:

Allen Rivkin (screenplay)
John D. Klorer (story)

Release Date:

11 January 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir

Tagline:

The hard-hitting story of a man with a plan...REVENGE!

Plot:

A meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife's lover.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Lover | Manager | Neighbor | Killer

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Richard Basehart	...	Warren Quimby
Audrey Totter	...	Claire Quimby
Cyd Charisse	...	Mary Chanler
Barry Sullivan	...	Lt. Collier Bonnabel
Lloyd Gough	...	Barney Deager
Tom D'Andrea	...	Freddie
William Conrad	...	Lt. Edgar Gonsales
Tito Renaldo	...	Narco

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #13979) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Audrey Totter was promised top-billing by the Producer, but when Richard Basehart was borrowed from Fox to play her husband, the studio demanded that he get top billing as a condition of the agreement.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Cyd Charisse accidentally snaps a picture of Richard Baseheart as "Paul Sothern", it is day time. However, the resulting picture she hands over to the missing persons bureau was obviously taken at night.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Police Lt. Collier Bonnabel: I'm Collier Bonnabel. I'm a cop. I'm a Lieutenant Detective in, uh, Homicide. That's a fancy name for murder.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Tension: Who's Guilty Now? (2007) (V)

An intense suspenseful murder yarn

Though there are a few ridiculous elements to the story, standout performances, good direction and fine camera work make this one a winner. The epitome of a slut/bitch is found in the character of Claire Quimby with all the blank spots filled in by what should have been an award-winning portrayal by Audrey Totter. Almost matching her is Richard Basehart as her doting husband Warren Quimby and his alter ego Paul Sothern. It's also fun to see the talented Tom D'Andrea (the beloved Gillis in "The Life of Riley") as an "I told you so" employee friend Freddie and William Conrad ("Cannon" and radio's Marshal Dillon)as Police Lt. Edgar 'Blackie' Gonsales. Both add a degree of humor and lightness needed for a movie filled with tension.

Take away the sappy Clark Kent glasses incognito and the not only unorthodox but also highly unethical, maybe downright illegal even in 1950, method used by Police Lt. Collier Bonnabel (Barry Sullivan) to trap Claire Quimby and you have a truly intense suspenseful murder flick in the film noir tradition.