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Cast a Dark Shadow More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 18 reviews in total |
34 out of 35 people found the following review useful:
Yummy piece of movie mayhem., 28 July 2004
Author:
Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH
A crackerjack cast of British pros enlivens this drawing room murder story based on a play. Bogarde (looking lean and young) is married to doddering, but kindly older woman Washourne. When he misunderstands her intentions regarding her will, he decides to do her in. Unfortunately, his haste leaves him in a precarious financial state and so he must give marrying and killing for money one more try. He hooks up with wealthy, but incredibly common and vulgar Lockwood, but she proves to be more than he bargained for in the brains department. Things heat up further when attractive, tasteful and equally wealthy Walsh enters the picture. Meanwhile, Bogarde cons his first wife's simple-minded maid Harrison into thinking he's a decent man, but Washbourne's lawyer Flemyng isn't fooled. Though the film can't completely erase it's roots on the stage, the story is opened up nicely every so often and the story is compelling enough to hold one's interest. Bogarde is wonderful as the conniving lady-killer, showing lots of expression and layers. (His character has homosexual shadings. He's even perusing a muscleman magazine as he's on the hunt for wife number two!) Washbourne fulfills her role as the befuddled first wife very well. Walsh adds a dash of taste to the proceedings. The real gem of the film, however, is Lockwood. She's absolutely divine as the mouthy, tacky, worldly (but lonely) woman who has dealt herself not only a new husband, but a fractured nutcase. The role is unusual for her and she portrays it beautifully. In skirts that are so tight she has to pull them up in order to sit down and with cigarettes hanging out of her beauty-marked mouth, she enlivens the film every time she is on screen. The film has several great, dramatic flourishes and some gorgeous deep focus photography. There's also a memorably menacing title sequence featuring Bogarde's deranged eyes. Though the ending is fairly predictable, there is one twist that some viewers may not see coming. Fans of Hitchcock and his ilk of suspense films will probably enjoy it more than the average viewer.
21 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
A black widower meets his match, 29 March 2006
Author:
blanche-2 from United States
Interesting. Until reading these comments, I hadn't realized that this
originally was a play in which the lead woman had a dual role - that of
victim and nemesis. Interesting because a 1970's "Thriller" episode,
"Coffin for the Bride" starring Helen Mirren reminded me very much of
this film, "Cast a Dark Shadow" - except that in this case, the star is
the male character, and in "Coffin," the star, of course, is Mirren.
Nevertheless, "Coffin" seems to have had its roots in this work, and
now that I know about the play, the two works resemble one another even
more.
The film concerns a younger man married to an older woman who meets her
demise earlier than planned due to the fact that, while drunk, her
husband misinterprets her intentions regarding a new will. He thinks
he's about to be cut out, when in fact, she wants her new will to
disinherit her sister and give him even more. He finds out his mistake
too late. Never one to dwell on the past, he very soon picks up with a
wealthy widow, but though she's in love with him and marries him, she
has his number and he can't get his way with her money. Frustrated, he
picks up with an attractive, sympathetic, and - need it be said -
monied woman looking for real estate in the area.
There are some wonderful performances in this film. Dirk Bogarde is a
very attractive, if a somewhat obvious slimeball, in a role that has
gay overtones with his love of muscle magazines. The real star role
belongs to Margaret Lockwood as his lower class wife. She's fantastic
with her overly made up face, the cigarette dangling from her hand, her
crass voice and her loud laugh. Can this be the sweet young thing of
"The Lady Vanishes?" Others in the cast are Mona Washbourne as
Bogarde's victim, Robert Flemyng as her suspicious lawyer, Kay Walsh as
Bogarde's next target, and Elizabeth Harrison as the maid, who gives a
totally believable performance while staying in the background.
Unfortunately I guessed the entire plot, including the twist ending,
having figured out early on that it was like "Coffin for the Bride."
However, if you lack that knowledge, you will probably enjoy it even
more.
19 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Theatre to bigscreen, 15 October 2005
Author:
tony-tanner from United States
This movie originated in London's West End as a 'tour de force' vehicle
for an actress who could play both victim and nemesis of the caddish
hero 'Teddy'. In the movie the roles are split between Mona Washbourne
and Margaret Lockwood.
The film betrays its theatrical origins many times over and is firmly
couched in the thriller conventions of its time. Dirk Bogarde, one of
the best actors to emerge from postwar British Cinema is caught in a
web of clichés as badboy Teddy: (The one original aspect of his
character is a clearly signaled penchant for muscle men) but the one
good reason for all fans of Ms. Lockwood to see this flick, is the
opportunity to see her cast off the Wicked Lady mantle and assume a
straightforward, eminently practical, tough-talking persona that we
have never seen before.
"you wouldn't like this one Monnie" says Teddy in imaginary dialogue
with his late victim, "She's common". Well, Monnie might not like her,
but be assured dear reader, you will.
14 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Very good for its kind, 8 May 2003
Author:
pmcenea from New York, NY
This is a movie that has almost all the parts working, in varying degrees. Direction, cinematography, screenplay, editing all were professionally done. The acting was superb. Dirk Bogarde couldn't have been better. Margaret Lockwood gave an award caliber performance. Kathleen Harrison as the maid played her character superbly while keeping her in the background, so to speak. The one obvious flaw was the predictability of the story. I found this to be a minor irritation only.
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Krumpets and Strumpets, 22 March 2007
Author:
howdymax from Las Cruces, New Mexico
I tuned into this movie not realizing I had seen it years earlier, so I
didn't pay a lot of attention to the opening credits or the set up. I
was soon hooked - all over again. This is a thoroughly engaging movie
with a twisted plot line. A thrilling English mystery with a wink and a
nod.
Dirk Bogarde plays an absolute cad with a caviar appetite and a beer
purse. He marries a tattered old English matron for her money, but
misses the mark when she fails to include him in her will. They do a
scene at a seaside tea house that is not to be missed. Listen for the
lilting melody of the all girl band. He needs another sugar mama before
his money runs out, and heads back to the tea house for another try.
For a dapper dude, he really does not know how to pick them. This time
his target is a shop worn widow played to the nines by Margaret
Lockwood.It took me until halfway through the second viewing to figure
out she was the same actress that played the naive ingénue in
Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes". Not only does she outguess him, she
outfoxes him. About this time, I began to think he ought to get another
line of work. Margaret Lockwood makes him look like an amateur. Instead
of her being a rich, vulnerable pigeon, she turns out to be very savvy
slut who one ups him at every turn.
There is a real mind bender ending, but I would never screw the reader
by revealing it. Every time I thought I had this movie figured, I got
hit with one surprise after another until about four minutes before the
ending credits rolled. Give this movie a play, but only if you have the
time to give it the attention it deserves. For me, most of the
delicious moments are quite subtle. I gave this movie a 9/10 and I'm a
stingy voter.
9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Margaret Lockwood - as never seen before, 18 May 2003
Author:
David Wheeler (Dave_BobW) from United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Adapted from a stage play ('Murder Mistaken'), this film shows the
wonderful
Margaret Lockwood playing a realistic character, rather than as a
highwaywoman or gipsy in a melodrama.
She is excellent as Freda, the vulgar second wife of the scheming Dirk
Bogarde, who is clever enough not to be murdered by him like her
predecessor.
According to Bogarde, Lockwood's name on the posters was bad publicity for
the film, as her fans wanted to remember as the villanous women she played
in earlier films. This seems a shame, as Lockwood was one of the better
actresses of the postwar British cinema who deserved to be given meatier
parts, like their American counterparts.
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Unusually Cynical, 4 January 2010
Author:
dougdoepke from Claremont, USA
Margaret Lockwood is so good as the hardened widow Mrs. Jeffries, it's
almost scary. Those initial encounters between her and Bare (Bogarde)
are like two sharks searching for a soft spot. Seldom has a courtship
been more cynically reduced to a conjugation of bank balances than in
this bleak little exercise. I love that tacky seaside club where they
first meet with its empty tables and off-key musicians that reeks of
faded gentility. Bogarde is all oily charm and greed, while Lockwood
has seen it all, yet somewhere still wants to believe. Their prickly
coupling is to marriage what he Hitler-Stalin pact was to peace
treaties. Certainly, no one can accuse the writers of loading up with
sympathetic characters. In fact, only the pathetic housekeeper Emmie
invites empathy—Kathleen Harrison in a slyly bravura performance.
In my book, the movie's an excellent little thriller up to the point
where the screenplay has Bogarde go bonkers. To that point, he's been
all cold calculation and self-possession, an impressive study in
ruthless boyish charm. However, by suddenly collapsing that cold
confidence into a blubbering psychotic, the screenplay undercuts both
the character menace and the dramatic tension. I'm just wondering
whether some watchdog group insisted that the character be exposed as a
weakling in order to undercut Bogarde's appeal as a villain. However
that may be, the movie remains an atmospheric, well-mounted little
thriller, unusually well acted.
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Dirk Bogarde: Cad or Bounder? (possible spoiler!), 22 November 2004
Author:
apboy2 from Detroit, Mich.
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Caught this on TCM on my day off and was reasonably entertained. It had
been years since I saw Bogarde in anything and he looks like he
accomplished what he set out to do ... be slick and gracefully evil. I
lost track of what went on at the end; first I thought he'd completely
flipped and was trying to kill himself, then changed his mind and tried
not to. He had to have known the car he'd driven away in was the one he
had rigged to crash.
Regardless, I found the film to be an interesting bit of late-stage
noir with not a little bit of chick flick tossed in. For a bunch of
older characters, the women were pretty saucy!
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Dirk Bogarde and Margaret Lockwood star in this interesting and nasty bit of British semi-noir, 8 April 2008
Author:
Terrell-4 from San Antonio, Texas
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
"I know who I appeal to. Freda because she's my class and Monie because
she was old and lonely." That's Edward 'Teddy' Bare (Dirk Bogarde)
speaking. He's a charming young man. Monie (Mona Washbourne) was his
first wife, considerably older than he and quite rich. He killed her
and made it look like an accident. Freda (Margaret Lockwood) is his
second wife. She's strong-willed, older than he, common and is quite
well off. Teddy was thinking about other kinds of accidents that might
happen even before they married. He already has spotted Charlotte (Kay
Walsh), another older, wealthy woman he and Freda met shortly after
their wedding. But Teddy didn't count on two things: That he might be
too clever by half is one. The other is that Monie had a sister. Please
note that there are no spoilers here; everything is laid out early. The
plot is all about how Teddy will get his comeuppance, not about what he
does.
Cast a Dark Shadow is a British noir from the late classic period, as
they say. It's a moody, murderous film filled alternately with sunlit
days and scenes in the dark, curtained drawing room of the country
house Teddy inherited from Monie. It's the room he killed her in. A lot
of drama, melodrama and acting takes place in it. Don't misunderstand
me. While the last fifteen minutes of the film nearly collapse from the
weight of twists and double twists, from dramatic confrontations and
from hysteria as psychological revelation, the bulk of the movie is an
effective study of charming, shadowed nastiness. The film also has a
sharply-written screenplay. After Teddy kills Monie he learns that her
will, which she was about to change to give him everything, at the time
of her death only gave him the house, none of her cash. "I tripped up
that time," Teddy says to the chair Monie usually sat in, "but one
thing's for sure, somebody's going to have to pay my passage." He has a
bookmaker friend finance his wooing of Freda, who is as sharp as they
come; she's not about to let Teddy get his hands on her money. But
Teddy's friend wants to be paid back. "You've landed the fish," he
tells Teddy, "but don't forget it's your Uncle Charlie who supplied the
chips." Teddy, who occasionally looks through male muscle magazines,
offers to sleep in Monie's room after an argument with Freda. She's
having none of it. "I don't know what your arrangements were with
Monica," she tells him, "but I didn't marry you for companionship."
Bogarde at 34 was eager to escape the sensitive, funny young men he had
been playing ever since he hit it big with Doctor in the House. He'd
begun starring in action roles, but this was his first as a villain. I
doubt too many remember him any more as the naive young man. He proved
himself not only a very good actor, but outstanding at playing
neurotically vicious characters, or troubled, middle-aged men, or just
condescending representatives of the better classes. This is very much
his movie. He's in just about every scene. Holding her own with him,
however, is Margaret Lockwood. Through the Forties she was a huge star
in Britain. She took off with The Lady Vanishes in 1938 and Night Train
to Munich and The Stars Look Down, both in 1940. She was a brunette
vision, slender, intelligent and with a slightly sly sense of humor
lurking behind her eyes. Now at 44, her Freda Jeffries is startlingly
effective, and nothing like Night Train's Anna Bomasch or Lady
Vanishes' Iris Hamilton. She's still a vision, but Freda is common and
crude, with a lower class accent, a loud laugh and a firm hand with
Teddy. Freda was a barmaid at a pub, she says, who "married my guv'nor"
and inherited his money when he died. Freda (and Lockwood) is still
very attractive, but Freda looks at the world through experienced eyes.
She tells Teddy at dinner before they are married that she's known a
few men since she was widowed. "But it was just the moneybags they were
after," she says with a loud laugh, "not the old bag herself."
Cast a Dark Shadow is a modest semi-noir. Up to the last two or three
scenes it's a stylish bit of murder, trickery and fate.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Mistaken Murder, 25 November 2006
Author:
BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC
A charming, scheming young man, married to dowdy Mona Washborne(even in 1955!)believes his wife is about to disinherit him and murders her whilst trying to be proactive. He soon realizes that she had no intent to do so but rather to leave everything to him, and he must now go and find another middle-aged woman ripe for his charms. Unfortunately for Dirk Bogarde, giving a rather good performance as the lazy killer, he chooses vulgar, feisty Margaret Lockwood, a semi-self-made woman left a great deal of money by her recently departed husband. Lockwood falls in love yet never completely yields to Bogarde or his financial desires, and soon new thoughts creep into his head. Another middle-aged woman arrives and Bogarde has new plans. This is a well-made, well-directed, superbly acted film with a great deal of suspense and lots of good, old-fashioned storytelling. Director Lewis Gilbert creates a tense, taut pace and his actors more than arise to the occasion. Lockwood, for me at least, never was better giving her common, nouveau riche former barmaid a depth of character. She is vulgar, not overwhelmingly attractive, yet at the same time very humane, intelligent, and the core of common sense in the film. The other women characters are stereotypes as is Bogarde. They all give good performances but are not round characters at all. Washborne looks like she could play someone's aunt here, and Kay Walsh as the "other" woman gives a competent yet predictable performance. I did like the ending. It seemed to fit the film very well. Some other good acting turns are given by Robert Flemyng as a lawyer convinced of Bogarde's guilt and Katleen Harrison doing an outstanding job as a super loyal yet none too bright maid. Cast a Dark Shadow is an eerie look into the world of someone who lives his life as a human parasite.
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