Sudden Fear **** (1952, Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett) – Classic Movie Review 2,088

Joan Crawford commands the screen forcefully as a woman who marries a murderous man, in the twisty and stylish 1952 cat-and-mouse film noir thriller Sudden Fear.

‘Every Suspenseful Moment…Every Embrace…Every Kiss – A Breathtaking Experience!’

Joan Crawford commands the screen forcefully in the twisty and stylish 1952 cat-and-mouse film noir thriller Sudden Fear as Myra Hudson, a rich middle-aged playwright who vetoes ambitious actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) as the lead in her new Broadway play because she thinks he doesn’t look like a romantic leading man.

But the gold-digging Blaine sets out to try to prove Myra wrong when they meet on the train from New York to San Francisco by romancing her, and then sets about to insinuate himself into her life. Myra succumbs to his charms after all, is soon swept off her feet and, after a brief courtship, she marries him. But then of course this is hardly a marriage made in heaven and she is understandably a bit miffed when she finds that he and his scheming sexy young floosie of a mistress, Irene Neves (Gloria Grahame), are plotting to bump her off.

[Spoiler alert] But Myra discovers their plans in time and concocts her own diabolical scheme to kill Lester and place the blame on Irene. Then Lester learns of Myra’s plan and chases her through the streets of San Francisco.  

After some buzz, it didn’t win any Academy Awards, but its four Oscar nominations – Best Actress (Crawford), Best Supporting Actor (Palance), Best Black-and-White Cinematography and Best Black-and-White Costume Design (Sheila O’Brien) – show its standing and quality. Crawford was also Golden Globe nominated as Best Actress – Motion Picture, Drama, and won the Golden Laurel for Best Female Dramatic Performance at the Laurel Awards in 1953.

The plot, based on a 1948 novel by Edna Sherry, may be contrived with obviously unreal plot devices and also slow to take hold, but the movie keeps tense and atmospheric and builds to an exciting chase climax. So it is thoroughly enjoyable, and, in any case, who cares about a few downsides when Crawford is standing there going through her entire gamut of emoting, with her headscarf, furs, gun and those huge smeared lips?

Director David Miller ensures that it is a slick and satisfying production with enough suspense throughout and a strong finish, well two finishes, the one Joan plans, and the one that actually happens (neat that). Born to play film noir, Palance and Grahame are very fine indeed, and Crawford is just great. In a way, Palance and Graham are in a different film, true noir. Palance is actually credible as a murderous actor, dissed and dangerous. Graham was born to play trampy, grasping and abused.

Bruce Bennett as Joan’s lawyer Steve Kearney, Mike Connors (billed as Touch Conners) as his son Junior Kearney who romances Grahame, and Virginia Huston as Joan’s friend Ann Taylor get a tiny little look in.

Bess Flowers, Sam Harris, Arthur Space, Estelle Etterre, Selmer Jackson, George Chan and Taylor Holmes are also in the cast.

Charles Lang Jnr’s glossy black and white cinematography and Elmer Bernstein’s score are icing on the cake. Crawford collaborated uncredited on the screenplay with screen-writers Lenore J Coffee and Robert Smith.

Crawford’s Oscar nomination was her third and final one and the only time she competed for Best Actress against her rival Bette Davis, nominated (for the tenth time) for The Star. But Shirley Booth won for Come Back, Little Sheba.

Jack Palance was also an Oscar nominee in the following year’s Shane (1953).

It goes without saying. but I will say it, Joan is gorgeously attired and made up at all times, suffering in style. Crawford’s gowns are designed by Sheila O’Brien and her furs by Al Teitelbaum.

Release date: August 7, 1952 (New York City).

It was a hit. Budget: $600,000. Box office: $1.65 million (US).

Joan Crawford opined: ‘It’s the kind of a drama we used to call a thriller. In fact, it’s so exciting that the first time I read the script some friends rang my doorbell about 9 o’clock at night and I was afraid to open the door.’

But she would say that, wouldn’t she, as the film’s executive producer, involving herself in all aspects, including working on the screenplay. She hired Lenore J Coffee as screenwriter and David Miller as director, and cast Jack Palance and Gloria Grahame. She insisted on Charles Lang as cinematographer and suggested Elmer Bernstein as composer. It’s a Joan labour of love, and it paid off artistically and financially, not ending up as a vanity project.

Francois Truffaut opined: ‘If the audience laughs when it is not suitable to do so, I take that as a sign of daring, of finish. The public has lost the habit of intensity. There is not a shot in Sudden Fear that isn’t necessary to its dramatic progression. Not a shot, either, that isn’t fascinating and doesn’t make us think it’s a masterpiece of cinema.’

Maybe, but ‘a masterpiece of cinema’ is perhaps a slight exaggeration, twisty and stylish though Sudden Fear is, and forceful though Joan Crawford is. In the end, Joan is right, it is more of an old-style star vehicle melodrama, a glossy movie concoction, miles from reality, some way from true noir, with Joan’s campy, silent movie style acting the cherry on top of the deliciously tasty, masterly concocted sundae.

The cast

The cast are Joan Crawford as Myra Hudson, Jack Palance as Lester Blaine, Gloria Grahame as Irene Neves, Bruce Bennett as Steve Kearney, Virginia Huston as Ann Taylor, Mike Connors (billed as Touch Conners) as Junior Kearney, Bess Flowers as Reception Guest, Sam Harris as Reception Guest, Arthur Space as George Ralston, Estelle Etterre as Eve Ralston, Selmer Jackson as Dr Van Roan, George Chan as Julius the butler, and Taylor Holmes as Scott Martindale.

Sudden Fear is directed by David Miller, runs 110 minutes, is made by Joseph Kaufmann Productions, is released by RKO Radio Pictures, is written by Lenore J Coffee and Robert Smith, based on the story Sudden Fear by Edna Sherry, is produced by Joan Crawford (executive producer, uncredited) and Joe Kaufmann [Joseph Kaufman], is shot in black and white by Charles Lang [Charles B Lang Jr], and is scored by Elmer Bernstein (composer and music director), with art direction by Boris Leven.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2,088

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/

Joan Crawford Movie Queens Tattoo from a 2015 original by Graeme Jukes, tattooed on Rick Endris of Minneapolis by Kyle Malone (of Leviticus Tattoo Minneapolis).