High Wall (1947)

After a brain-damaged man confesses to murder and is committed, Dr. Ann Lorrison tries to prove his innocence.

Director:

Curtis Bernhardt

Writers:

Sydney Boehm (screenplay), Lester Cole (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Taylor	...	Steven Kenet
Audrey Totter	...	Dr. Ann Lorrison
Herbert Marshall	...	Willard I. Whitcombe
Dorothy Patrick	...	Helen Kenet
H.B. Warner	...	Mr. Slocum
Warner Anderson	...	Dr. George Poward
Moroni Olsen	...	Dr. Philip Dunlap
John Ridgely	...	David Wallace (as John Ridgeley)
Morris Ankrum	...	Dr. Stanley Griffin
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Mrs. Kenet
Vince Barnett	...	Henry Cronner
Jonathan Hale	...	Emory Garrison
Charles Arnt	...	Sidney X. Hackle
Ray Mayer	...	Tom Delaney
Robert Hyatt	...	Richard Kenet (as Bobby Hyatt)

Storyline

Steven Kenet, suffering from a recurring brain injury, appears to have strangled his wife. Having confessed, he's committed to an understaffed county asylum full of pathetic inmates. There, Dr. Ann Lorrison is initially skeptical about Kenet's story and reluctance to undergo treatment. But against her better judgement, she begins to doubt his guilt, and endangers her career on a dangerous quest through dark streets awash with rain.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | asylum | crime wave | amnesiac war veteran | kitten | 

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Taglines:

So tense! So taut! It closes in on you like a high wall!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anklage - Mord

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,844,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film did poorly at the box office for MGM, resulting in a loss of $101,000 ($1M in 2017) according to studio records.

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Goofs

(around 1 hour, 11 minutes) When Dr. Ann Lorrison is in her office looking in the mirror while doing her makeup, there is a knock on the door. She says "come in" but before she knows who it is; she jumps the dialog by saying "Hello George". She did not see George nor did he say anything that would have allowed her to have known who was knocking.

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Quotes

Steven Kenet: All this is confidential between doctor and patient isn't it? You're in a hurry to get in and report this aren't you? Well I can't stop you but just remember, you're the one who sold me on the idea of surgery, of fighting for an acquittal. Why did you bother?

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Soundtracks

Battle Hymn of the Republic
(uncredited)
Music by William Steffe
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe
[An unseen patient is singing the song while Ann runs through the ward to see Steve in isolation]

User Reviews

Melodramatic Film-Noir

The former WWII pilot Steven Kenet (Robert Taylor) is captured by the police after driving his car off the road into a river with his deceased wife. He confesses that he killed his wife and is sent to a psychiatric hospital for medical evaluation. Kenet has a brain injury from the war that provokes amnesia and the justice department needs to know whether he may be charged of murder or not. Dr. Ann Lorrison (Audrey Totter) is assigned to treat him and offers a surgery to cure him but refused by Kenet. When Kenet is visited by the super of the apartment building where the boss of his wife lives, he insinuates that Willard I. Whitcombe (Herbert Marshall) killed his wife in his apartment. Now Kenet wants to recover his memory and accepts to be submitted to a treatment by Dr. Lorrison.

"High Wall" is a film-noir combined with melodrama and romance. The lead story is not bad, but the romance of Kenet and Lorrison has no chemistry and is hard to believe. The black-and-white cinematography is wonderful and the happy-ending is acceptable. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Muro de Trevas" ("Wall of Darkness")