I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

Why is Inspector Ed Cornell trying to railroad Frankie Christopher for the murder of model Vicky Lynn?

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone (as Bruce Humberstone)

Writers:

Dwight Taylor (screen play by), Steve Fisher (from the novel "I Wake Up Screaming" by)

Stars:

Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Betty Grable	...	Jill Lynn
Victor Mature	...	Frankie Christopher
Carole Landis	...	Vicky Lynn
Laird Cregar	...	Ed Cornell
William Gargan	...	Jerry MacDonald
Alan Mowbray	...	Robin Ray
Allyn Joslyn	...	Larry Evans
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Harry Williams
Chick Chandler	...	Reporter
Cyril Ring	...	Reporter
Morris Ankrum	...	Asst. District Attorney
Charles Lane	...	Keating--Florist
Frank Orth	...	Cemetery Caretaker
Gregory Gaye	...	Headwaiter
May Beatty	...	Lady Handel (as Mae Beatty)

Storyline

Promoter Frankie Christopher, being grilled by police in the murder of model Vicky Lynn, recalls in flashback: First meeting her as a waitress, Frankie decides to parlay her beauty into social acceptance and a lucrative career. He succeeds only too well: she's on the eve of deserting him for Hollywood...when someone kills her. Now Frankie gets the feeling that Inspector Ed Cornell is determined to pin the killing on him and only him. He's right. And the only one he can turn to for help is Jill, the victim's sister, who's been cool toward him...

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Plot Keywords:

waitress | frame up | model | death of sister | new york city | 

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Taglines:

Three of the most exciting people you ever had in a picture!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot Spot

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the DVD, this film was originally titled "Hot Spot" and a title sequence was shot using this (included on the DVD without music), but subsequently dropped in favor of "I Wake Up Screaming." However, the title "Hot Spot" was retained for its UK release, and British prints incorporate the original title sequence. Fox sent out posters, lobbies, and other publicity materials under the title "Hot Spot," and the surviving ephemera is highly prized by collectors.

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Goofs

When Vicky Lynn's dead body is on the floor, and is being examined by Frankie, Jill walks in the room and the camera begins to quickly dolly up. All of a sudden, Vicky starts to quickly roll away as if to get out of the way of the camera path. (They show the same revealing mistake in the movie's trailer.)

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Quotes

Ed Cornell: When I get all my evidence together, I'm gonna have you tied up like a pig in a slaughterhouse.

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Connections

Referenced in Good Dick (2008)

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Soundtracks

The Things I Love
(uncredited)
Music and lyrics by Harold Barlow and Lewis Harris
Based on "Melody," Op. 42, No.3
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sung by Carole Landis

User Reviews

Cregar is genuinely frightening

An excellent american thriller of the forties with a good plot and superb character performances. The spectator is kept on his or her toes throughout the film and Cregar's "presence" is genuinely frightening and certainly not for the faint hearted. Picture quality is unfortunately rather mediocre and the film doesn't seem to be available anywhere on DVD