A newly rich woman meets a suavely charming man, and marries him. Idyllically, they go off to a remote honeymoon cottage. It all seems ideal, but is it.
The Gothic material would have made an excellent entry in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962- 65). As an 80-minute movie, however, there's too much repetition long after we've gotten the idea. In fact, this may be the "clinch-i-est" movie I've seen, seems like they're embracing every few minutes. Yes, we know she's enamored, while he's leading her down a one-way road. The premise, of course, is a perennial one, as others trace out, and a hard one for audiences to resist. The suspense is built in even though we know how Hollywood will end it, especially with dewy-eyed Sylvia Sydney in the feminine lead. That suspense would have really mounted had we discovered Manuel's true intentions at the same time Cecily does. I agree with others, that he was exposed much too early.
On the other hand, the production is very well staged, with particular attention to detail. Also eye-catching are the photography and art direction. So when the narrative dawdles, the visuals help compensate. But what's with that aircraft-carrier hat topped by feathers that Cecily wears. I'm surprised it didn't eat her head. Frankly, I thought Hodiak was quite good as the charmer. With his dark good looks, I can see women falling for him at first glance. More importantly, he plays the ruthless schemer in aptly subtle fashion. Too bad the actor died young (41). Anyway, I wish the screenplay had been either trimmed or fleshed out with less redundancy. Still, there are compensations.
The Gothic material would have made an excellent entry in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962- 65). As an 80-minute movie, however, there's too much repetition long after we've gotten the idea. In fact, this may be the "clinch-i-est" movie I've seen, seems like they're embracing every few minutes. Yes, we know she's enamored, while he's leading her down a one-way road. The premise, of course, is a perennial one, as others trace out, and a hard one for audiences to resist. The suspense is built in even though we know how Hollywood will end it, especially with dewy-eyed Sylvia Sydney in the feminine lead. That suspense would have really mounted had we discovered Manuel's true intentions at the same time Cecily does. I agree with others, that he was exposed much too early.
On the other hand, the production is very well staged, with particular attention to detail. Also eye-catching are the photography and art direction. So when the narrative dawdles, the visuals help compensate. But what's with that aircraft-carrier hat topped by feathers that Cecily wears. I'm surprised it didn't eat her head. Frankly, I thought Hodiak was quite good as the charmer. With his dark good looks, I can see women falling for him at first glance. More importantly, he plays the ruthless schemer in aptly subtle fashion. Too bad the actor died young (41). Anyway, I wish the screenplay had been either trimmed or fleshed out with less redundancy. Still, there are compensations.