Julie (1956)

A terrified wife tries to escape from her insanely jealous husband who is bent on killing her.

Director:

Andrew L. Stone

Writer:

Andrew L. Stone

Stars:

Doris Day, Louis Jourdan, Barry Sullivan

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Doris Day	...	Julie Benton
Louis Jourdan	...	Lyle Benton
Barry Sullivan	...	Cliff Henderson
Frank Lovejoy	...	Det. Lt. Pringle
Jack Kelly	...	Jack (co-pilot)
Ann Robinson	...	Valerie
Barney Phillips	...	Doctor on Flight 36
Jack Kruschen	...	Det. Mace
John Gallaudet	...	Det. Sgt. Cole
Carleton Young	...	Airport control tower official
Hank Patterson	...	Ellis
Ed Hinton	...	Captain of Flight 36
Harlan Warde	...	Det. Pope
Aline Towne	...	Denise Martin
Eddie Marr	...	Airline Official

Storyline

Her new husband's behaviour convinces Julie Benton that his jealousy is dangerous, and when he admits he killed her first husband she realises she has to get away. A long-time friend helps all he can, but even in a town the size of San Francisco, Benton seems able to track them down. The police can do nothing despite a death threat, so the next move is up to Julie.

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Plot Keywords:

suspense | san francisco california | aviation | character name as title | jealous husband | 

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Taglines:

WHAT HAPPENED TO JULIE ON HER HONEYMOON?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mord in den Wolken

Filming Locations:

Blythe, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$785,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arwin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite negative reviews, this film was profitable for M-G-M, costing under $800,000 and grossing more than $2.5 million.

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Goofs

In the opening scene, Julie is constantly turning the steering wheel, even when the rear projection shows the car to be moving in a straight line.

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Quotes

Julie Benton: Sergeant, I want to report a murder!

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Connections

Referenced in What a Difference a Day Made: Doris Day Superstar (2009)

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Soundtracks

Julie
by Leith Stevens and Tom Adair
Sung by Doris Day (uncredited) over main titles

User Reviews

Provides realism as well as suspense.

The writer-director (and producer of many other films, although not this one) Andrew L. Stone was only nominated once for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, and he was very proud of this one. I worked for Stone in the mid-1970's, and he looked back at "JULIE" as a piece of his finest work.

The maniacal husband-as-stalker was a new kind of character for films in 1956. The honest discussion of how law enforcement often failed 'women in jeopardy' brought up issues which only became widely discussed in the 1970's.

Doris Day plays the role of a terrorized wife trying to escape from the husband who is trying to kill her, and this is such a well-done treatment of the subject that even jaded audiences today respond to it.

The climactic scene in which Doris Day lands the passenger plane with help from the control tower is riveting, because it is based on fact. Andrew L. Stone was an exhaustive researcher, and you can be sure every detail of that scene was checked and re-checked. It would have happened in real life just as you see it on the screen.

Stone kept a collection of 'true crime' magazines dating from the 1930's in his office library, and he had dozens of plot ideas for thrillers like this one. However, he had always been his own boss and not a 'studio man'. Hollywood didn't give him big budgets, and he never had the opportunity to continue his career as Hitchcock did. Mentally sharp through his 80's, Stone spent the last decade of his life trying to put deals together to make movies that never got off the ground. Our loss.