Hangover Square (1945)

A promising classical musician finds his life poisoned by a music hall dancer -- and by the strange gaps in his memory.

Director:

John Brahm

Writers:

Barré Lyndon (screenplay), Patrick Hamilton (novel)

Stars:

Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell, George Sanders

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laird Cregar	...	George Harvey Bone
Linda Darnell	...	Netta Longdon
George Sanders	...	Dr. Allan Middleton
Glenn Langan	...	Eddie Carstairs
Faye Marlowe	...	Barbara Chapman
Alan Napier	...	Sir Henry Chapman

Storyline

George Harvey Bone is a composer in early 20th century London, who is under stress because he is writing a piano concerto. Due to this stress, he gets black outs when ever he hears dissonances. When he finds himself after the black out in a different quarter of the town, he returns home, to read in the paper that somebody in that quarter was murdered. Asking help from a doctor at Scotland Yard he is assured that he has nothing to do with it, but he is advised to cut back in his work and get some relaxation like other, ordinary people. At a cheap musical he meets Netta, a singer, who inspires him for a new motive for his concerto. But Netta discovers that this motive could also be used as a song for her. The song gets sold, and she hangs around George to get more songs out of him. George believes that Netta is in love with him, and gets in an argument with his girlfriend Barbara, the daughter of Lord Henry, who wants the concerto for one of his soirées. George has another black out, ...

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Plot Keywords:

deception | scotland yard | doctor | piano | early 20th century | 

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Taglines:

THE SCREEN'S MOST Terrifying LOVE STORY! EXCITING MYSTERY AND STRANGE EMOTION! (original print ad - mostly caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1945 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Concierto macabro

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:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the book "A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann", John Brahm said like this about the concerto scene: "For a long time, I had been dissatisfied with the photography of music in films. Musicians themselves are uninteresting; it is what they play that should be photographed. I myself could not read a note of music, but when Herrmann came and saw the finished film he could not believe it. I had photographed his music."

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Goofs

Although the film is set in London, its US studio production is revealed when several of the extras speak with American accents, particularly the children collecting 'pennies for the guy.'

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Quotes

[first lines]
Street Vendor: Look! It's old Ogilby's place!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits: This is the story of George Harvey Bone who resided at number 12 Hangover Square, London SW in the early part of the twentieth century. The British Catalogue of Music lists him as a distinguished composer...

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Connections

Version of Hangover Square (2009)

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Soundtracks

Wedding of the Winds
(uncredited)
Written by John T. Hall
Played at the restaurant

User Reviews

The Symphony Concert

In 1903, in London, the prominent classical pianist George Harvey Bone (Laird Cregar) stabs a shop owner to death and set his store on fire. He returns home with amnesia, a dagger on his pocket and blood on his blazer and he meets his girlfriend Barbara Chapman (Faye Marlowe) and her father Sir Henry Chapman (Alan Napier) waiting for him. George is composing a piano concerto to make his debut in a symphony concert and is stressed with the situation. What he does not know is that when he hears dissonant sounds he turns into a killer. George confesses to Barbara that he cannot recall what he did along that day and when they read the crime of the shop owner in the newspaper, George decides to see Dr. Allan Middleton (George Sanders) from the Scotland Yard and discloses what happened. Dr. Middleton investigates the case and tranquilizes George. However he advises George to see other persons and have entertainment. One night, George goes to a pub and meet his acquaintance Mickey that introduces him to the ambitious untalented singer Netta Longdon (Linda Darnell). She seduces him and uses George to compose melodies to raise money with Mickey and spend his money in dinners in fancy places. When George proposes Netta to get married with him, he learns that he was used and she will marry Mickey. He returns home and accidentally drops his violins, producing a dissonance. What will happen next?

"Hangover Street" is a melodramatic crime film with a particularity since the killer is known in the first scene. Therefore there is no mystery but the screenplay keeps the attention of the viewer until the very last scene. The black and white cinematography and sets are top-notch, showing London in the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The music score by Bernard Herrmann is awesome and Laird Cregar convinces in the role of a pianist in his last work. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Concerto Macabro" ("Macabre Concert")