Simply Perfect

Pretty Good

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Despite the Dated Psychological Elements Often Attempted in the Noir that were Misunderstood and some Plot Points, Like the Brain Surgery, that are Contrived to Say the Least, this is a Pulse-Pounding Picture Drenched in Shadows and Rain.Along with Offbeat Characters and a World Out of Whack this Murder Mystery is High Entertainment for Film-Noir Fans. Robert Taylor is OK as He is Trying Desperately to Change His Image from Pretty Boy to Versatile Actor. Audrey Totter is Stretched as a Psychiatrist and Herbert Marshall is Creepy Playing Against Type.There is Much Mood and Atmosphere and the Cinematography is Ripe Film-Noir with Expressionistic Lighting and those Swirling Flashbacks and Drugged Surrealism. The Film's Shortcomings, the Already Mentioned Medical Missteps, and an MGM Capitulation of a Happy Ending that is an Anti-Noir Element Happily Included by the Studio.Overall, it is a Bonafide Film-Noir with More to Recommend than Not. It is a Must See for Fans of the Genre and even those with just a Casual Concern for Forties Films and Matinée Idols Trying to Join the Post-War Cynicism that was Not Always Pretty.

The film begins with a woman being murdered and her husband (Robert Taylor) being held for it. However, they can't just put him in jail for this, as he has emotional problems that were exacerbated by a head injury. So instead he's sent to a psychiatric hospital. His therapist is played by Audrey Totter, who like Ingrid Bergman in SPELLBOUND, seems to ignore the boundary between patient and therapist. Eventually she comes to think that he might be innocent and investigates the case to find out who the true killer is--though she never takes the same risk or goes as deeply into the case as Bergman. This new-found belief in Taylor's innocence follows his undergoing "narcosynthesis"--using drugs to facilitate hypnosis--a highly dubious means for getting to the truth (this method has not proved successful over the years). And, it's very dubious in these sort of films that female therapists ALWAYS seem to ignore professional ethics and boundaries with their handsome male patients!This is a very interesting film that, as mentioned above, is very similar to SPELLBOUND. The difference is that this film, though on shaky psychological ground, is still far more possible than SPELLBOUND--which, though a classic, is all psychological mumbo-jumbo. Here, at least, the film has some believability and is quite interesting. Plus, it has a dandy performance by the always understated Herbert Marshall.By the way, how could Robert Taylor's character have gotten brain surgery yet not even have a bandaged head or scars immediately after this?! An odd mistake, surely.

A mildly engaging if unremarkable psychodrama about a man returning from WWII with a head injury who is accused of killing his wife. He's committed to a mental institution until he's able to regain control of his faculties. Once he does, he begins to suspect that he wasn't responsible for his wife's death after all and so begins a fight with the hospital's staff to convince them that he's not a raving nutjob and merely seeks the truth of what happened.We know he's not guilty, mostly because he's played by Robert Taylor, and the female doctor assigned to his case (played by the lovely Audrey Totter) begins to realize that too, right around the time she starts to fall in love with him. The film looks like a noir, but's its really just a piece of melodramatic hokum in noir clothing.Taylor and Totter make a rather stiff pairing. I've come to adore Totter, a rather unknown actress who seems to have made her mark mainly in "B" offerings, but I like her better as a hotsy-totsy spitfire, like the one she played in "Tension." Here she's asked to be straight-laced and professional, and she's not nearly as much fun. Herbert Marshall makes an effectively oily villain though, and he provides the movie the majority of whatever pizazz it has.Released shortly after WWII, the film more than anything is a laughable "warning" about what happens when men go off to war and the womenfolk stay behind. They get bored and set out to find (gasp!) jobs, but they of course eventually have affairs with their bosses and are murdered as punishment. Ah, how far we've come.....Grade: B-

Robert Taylor is Steven Kenet, accused of killing his unfaithful wife in "High Wall," a 1947 film noir also starring Audrey Totter and Herbert Marshall. In our first glimpse of Steve, he's in a car with a dead woman careening down the road to get rid of her. The problem is, due to a brain injury suffered during the war, he can't remember what happened. He is institutionalized for psychiatric evaluation to see if he can stand trial as a sane person. Audrey Totter is Ann, the psychiatrist who takes in Steve's small son as well as works with her patient to try and uncover the truth. Herbert Marshall plays his dead wife's boss.After World War II, Hollywood began to explore mental and emotional disorders and the use of psychiatry to unlock the traumas of the mind. "Possessed," "Spellbound," and "The Snake Pit" are just a few of the dozens of films employing the use of psychiatry, mental hospitals, and/or psychotropic drugs. In "High Wall," the psychiatry seems to be more of a plot device than something that is actually used to help the patient. It's there to provide flashbacks. Meanwhile, the Taylor character, once he has surgery, has a mind of his own and is constantly slipping out or in the psychiatrist's office window, hiding in her car, and visiting the scene of the crime. The biggest problem is that the character of the murder victim is never developed, and the reasons for her behavior are never made clear. Nevertheless, the film manages to hold one's interest, has a great atmosphere and a couple of really shocking moments. There are also some very funny bits throughout, including a scene where Steve meets the public defender.This is one of Robert Taylor's best performances. After "Johnny Eager," one of Hollywood's biggest heartthrobs began to play more complex roles and more bad guys. It was a good move; he played them very well. He doesn't get much support from Audrey Totter, who turns in a dull, somewhat cold performance in an attempt to be a professional woman. She doesn't give the role a lot of shading. Herbert Marshall seems somewhat miscast and is too lethargic for a role that requires some emotional range.Very watchable for handsome Taylor's excellent performance.