After a dramatic start with oodles of the German Expressionism one has come to expect from the accomplished William Dieterle, what follows is alas something of an anti-climax, thoroughly proficient but lacking an edge.
It is essentially a vehicle for that most gracious of actresses, the lovely Loretta Young, whose reputation in Hollywood circles as a Miss Goody Two Shoes makes her excellent casting as a reserved psychology professor whose quiet sensuality leads to devastating consequences. Her performance is aided immeasurably by the marvellous score of Victor Young although her 'interior' monologues are rather weak.
Her leading man is the underrated Robert Cummings whilst Wendell Corey's detective and the pathologist of Sam Jaffe offer the most interesting characterisations.
German emigré William Dieterle adapted quickly to Hollywood filmmaking and gave us some absolute gems in the thirties and forties but things were never quite the same once circumstances obliged him to work for Paramount whilst his 'greylisting' by the accursed HUAC did not exactly improve his employment prospects. One can only say that he does his best here with the material at his disposal.
