Madeline (Leslie Caron) arrives in the United States to meet with a horrible old man, Mr. Tevenet (Louis Calhern). Why? Because Tevenet's grandson, a revolutionary, wants money to help him and the republican cause*. Tevenet is not in favor of the new republic and is a nasty old crank...but inexplicably likes Madeline and asks her to stay. This is a problem, as the staff in the Tevenet household was planning on taking all his money once the old man dies...and now, potentially, he'll give it to the grandson. How will they try to stop Madeline? And, how will Madeline's new acquaintance (Joseph Cotten) fit in to all this?
When "The Man With a Cloak" debuted, it lost a ton of money (several million in today's money). Does this mean the film is terrible or was it just a good film that didn't find a market? After all, with Barbara Stanwyck, Joseph Cotten and Leslie Caron, it obviously had some excellent actors in the picture.
I found this film to be extremely talky. All too often, instead of action, folks talked...and talked. Sadly, there was a great fight scene near the end...but it was too little, too late. Plus, instead of just ending there, the film went on a bit...resulting in a very good ending being not so very good. Worth watching if you are a bit fan of the actors...otherwise an easy film to skip. Or, perhaps, you might want to watch the film as there are a few clues scattered here and there about who Dupin actually is.
By the way, there is a trick or treating scene in the film. The film is set around 1940...but trick or treating didn't come into vogue until the 1920s. Oops.
When "The Man With a Cloak" debuted, it lost a ton of money (several million in today's money). Does this mean the film is terrible or was it just a good film that didn't find a market? After all, with Barbara Stanwyck, Joseph Cotten and Leslie Caron, it obviously had some excellent actors in the picture.
I found this film to be extremely talky. All too often, instead of action, folks talked...and talked. Sadly, there was a great fight scene near the end...but it was too little, too late. Plus, instead of just ending there, the film went on a bit...resulting in a very good ending being not so very good. Worth watching if you are a bit fan of the actors...otherwise an easy film to skip. Or, perhaps, you might want to watch the film as there are a few clues scattered here and there about who Dupin actually is.
By the way, there is a trick or treating scene in the film. The film is set around 1940...but trick or treating didn't come into vogue until the 1920s. Oops.