Absolutely Fantastic

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Good psychologist against astrologer quack, with the beautiful wife inbetween. Deductive and grounded science of mind, as they were pushing for psychology at the time, against hypnotism's murky intuitions.Not so strangely then the film assumes the first view, one of solid reality. The film has no visual reach into soul, dares not. Preminger was right for this job of merely dressing from the outside. But it is perfectly written in that oldfashioned way of spoken complexity, that is until a pretty ridiculous late twist. Normally I don't go for it but it's just so good here, witty and layered.Superficially, we have similarities to Laura: the coveted woman trapped in stories about her, in a capricious storyteller's world, if you'll remember Laura begins with a writer preparing to writer her story. An infatuated detective trying to reclaim her, here the husband. And her acquiring life outside the story. A crucial setpiece happens in a livingroom beneath a portrait, mirroring the scene of Laura's first appearance in that film.But for me this is better, because beneath the storytelling layers there is a commitment to a shared and precious life.We know for one that she was pure every step of the way, manipulated out of shame. More modern films would shy from this knowledge, but it matters here that everything rests on her being a good soul. What is at stake is not just who done it, but one soulmate's faith and commitment to the other. The hypnotist villain is truly one of the most wretched, not in any comicbook way of threatening anonymous millions with some thingamajig, but for trying to destroy this faith.And finally, the most gentle notion; love as a matter of trusting his voice, piercing through the forgetfulness to remember. I think if there's one reason worth living, that is love, quaint but it is what it is. So I'm particularly dismayed when cinematic love often rings false, and overjoyed when they get it. They do here, love as waking from the stupor. Noir Meter: 3/4

Ann Sutton (Gene Tierney) is married to Dr. Bill Sutton, an upright psychoanalyst (played by a completely miscast Richard Conte). When we first meet Ann, she's getting arrested by a store detective in a department store after attempting to steal an expensive piece of jewelry. Okay, so that's a bit of a twist—our heroine is a kleptomaniac. Next into the mix is the oily David Korvo (nicely and seedily played by Jose Ferrer). He knows the department store owner and convinces him to drop the charges against Ann.Korvo is 1949's answer to a new age practitioner: he dabbles in astrology but is principally a hypnotist. At first Ann believes Korvo is trying to blackmail her but he persuades her that he really wants to be her 'therapist'. Ann is smart enough to realize that Korvo is trying to get her to come up to his hotel room so they can have sex so she meets him downstairs in the hotel lobby. Korvo gives up on the sex idea but has more sinister plans. At first, he charges $50 for hypnotism sessions which appear to be helping Ann with her insomnia.We learn more about Korvo from one of Bill Sutton's patients, Theresa Randolph, who tries to warn Ann that Korvo is a blackmailer and up to no good but Ann believes that Theresa is merely jealous of her relationship with this extremely crafty Svengali (apparently Bill adheres to a strict code of doctor-patient confidentiality as Ann has never met Theresa Randolph before). Bill records his therapy sessions on new-fangled long playing records which he stores in a closet in his home. Everything about Korvo's 'modus operandi' (his penchant for blackmail and physical abuse) are detailed in these recordings and Korvo realizes that he has to get his hands on them if he is to continue in his career as a con artist.So what does Korvo do? He murders Randolph (just as she's about to change her will negating a bequest that leaves Korvo a large amount of money as part of her estate). He also hypnotizes Ann and has her steal the Randolph therapy session recordings and puts them in a closet in Randolph's house. He sets Ann up by leaving a glass with Ann's fingerprint on it in Randolph's home. The police arrive and arrest Ann for murder.Now it gets strange, real strange! Korvo needs an alibi. Apparently he's been having gall bladder problems so he arranges to have an operation at two in the afternoon on the day of the murder. The murder occurs at nine in the evening so how does Korvo pull it off? Well we find out (quite improbably) that Korvo hypnotized himself and was able to drag himself out of bed and commit the murder.The hypnotist's power of suggestion has a prominent role in this film but unfortunately much too prominent. I always believed that hypnotism might be a useful tool in helping people overcome minor health or psychological problems (such as Ann being helped with her insomnia at the beginning of the film). But I didn't buy it for a minute when Korvo orders Ann around in a trance and then hypnotizes himself hours after major surgery. And then Korvo does it again—he hypnotizes himself once more so he can leave the hospital and try and get his hands on the recordings. But instead of taking the recordings and getting out of the deceased Randolph's house right away (or even destroying them at the house), he tarries and begins playing them on the phonograph in the living room. This gives the Suttons and the investigating detective enough time to arrive at the crime scene where they eventually confront Korvo, who drops dead from blood loss (apparently his hypnotic suggestions are not powerful enough to stanch the bleeding—complications from his surgery earlier that afternoon).Aside from the obvious plot holes, there is also a distasteful conceit being peddled by the film's screenwriters here. The dubious and subjective 'profession' of psychoanalysis not only is depicted as being highly 'scientific' but is also placed on par with practitioners in the medical profession. 'Unscientific', unlicensed 'healers' (represented by the evil Korvo) are presented as bogus and manipulative in striking contrast to the upright Dr. Sutton (who uses his psychobabble) to uncover the ROOT of his wife's kleptomania. With some kind soothing words, Dr. Sutton will soon solve his wife's neurosis and they can once again move amongst their social equals and bring good cheer to them without the fear of scandal.If you see this on DVD, there's some interesting commentary by film critic Richard Shickel. He notes that the late film critic, Pauline Kael, termed this film "a real stinker". But Schikel is more on the side of critic Andrew Sarris who felt there were a lot of worthwhile things about the film. While Tierney and Ferrer's performances draw you in, the plot holes and the psychobabble are enough to keep one from taking the DVD off the shelf and watching it every couple of months. I'm not sure if 'Whirlpool' deserves to be called a 'real stinker' but it's decidedly no great work of art!

"Whirlpool" is a tale of kleptomania, hypnotherapy and murder in which the considerable talents of director Otto Preminger and Ben Hecht (who co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Solt) are harnessed effectively to produce a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable off-beat thriller.Gene Tierney stars as Ann Sutton, the affluent and respectable wife of an eminent psychoanalyst, who finds herself in a fix when she's caught shoplifting. Fortunately, her embarrassment and likely prosecution are avoided by the timely intervention of another customer, David Korvo (Jose Ferrer). Korvo is a psychotherapist who convinces the store's management that Ann is clearly unwell and should, therefore, be released, especially as pursuing the matter further would be likely to draw adverse publicity to the business. As Ann is an account holder, the item of jewellery that she stole is returned to her and simply charged to her account.Ann's relief is initially tempered by the suspicion that Korvo intends to blackmail her but when he disabuses her of that idea and gains her trust, she becomes a patient of his and he successfully treats her insomnia by using hypnotism before promising to give her treatment for her kleptomania. Although her marriage to William (Richard Conte) is a happy one, she has never been able to admit her problem to him.It quickly becomes clear that the ultra smooth talking Korvo is actually an unscrupulous con-man who has designs on Ann and her money. However, when one of his ex-victims (who is coincidentally now one of Dr Sutton's patients) tells her what sort of man he is, she dismisses what's been said and totally ignores the warning. Later, the woman who gave Ann the warning is found murdered and all the evidence suggests that Ann was the murderer. Korvo is not implicated because he was undergoing gall bladder surgery at the time of the murder, and eventually Dr Sutton and police Lieutenant Colton (Charles Bickford) work together to determine who was responsible for the murder.Korvo's slyness, deceit and manipulation are all wrapped up in a cloak of smugness, unctuous charm and pseudo-concern for his patients and Ferrer displays all these characteristics admirably. Gene Tierney expertly depicts the range of emotions felt by her character who is superficially serene, sophisticated and confident but is actually tormented by her internal struggle with a condition which is a powerful and malign force in her life and one which she is ashamed to admit, even to her husband.Sadly, the well documented mental health problems that Gene Tierney endured in her own life, add an inescapable poignancy to the experience of seeing her excellent portrayals of characters such as Ann Sutton and of course, Ellen Berent in "Leave Her To Heaven".Standards and practices in psychiatry and psychotherapy have changed considerably since "Whirlpool" was made and anyone watching it now will need to make allowances for this and also suspend their disbelief at a couple of the plot's more bizarre twists which come over as much less credible now than they may have seemed at the time.

The famed Otto Preminger produces and directs this melodrama written by Ben Hect and Andrew Solt. A much over looked piece of Film Noir from 20th Century Fox starring the alluring Gene Tierney. Although her husband 'Bill' Sutton(Richard Conte)is a well known psychologist, Ann Sutton(Tierney)is a kleptomaniac, who is trapped into being treated by an unscrupulous hypnotist David Korvo(Jose Ferrer). Korvo is notorious for making his living by taking advantage of unsuspecting women and blackmailing them. Korvo will force Mrs. Sutton's involvement in a failed relationship's payoff and murder. Dirty dealing is going on for sure. And what is a girl to do while under a spell? WHIRLPOOL also features: Charles Bickford, Barbara O'Neal and Constance Collier. With no disrespect to the beautiful Tierney, a great director like Preminger can make a not-so-flamboyant cast look good.