Gail Russell embodied one of Hollywood's saddest stories: a truly beautiful woman of refined physical elegance who fell in the trap of drinking. In THE UNSEEN, she was at the beginning of her ultimately tepid career, and she shows great touch in relation with kids and with the handsome Joel McCrea who, lamentably, appears only infrequently and for short spells.
Lewis Allen directs this minor noir that purportedly also delves into the realm of horror with some flair, relying on John Seitz's sound cinematography, and solid acting across the board, with Herbert Marshall the ever classy, unperturbed performer despite the wooden leg (I do not easily recall an actor who played evil and good characters with similar charm).
The script is not the film's forte. I could not quite understand the part played by Isobel Elsom, for instance, and the villain's identification struck me as rather tame.
At any rate, with a cast of this quality and beauties like Russel and Brooks, and McCrea's engaging persona, it is well worth a watch - and a re-watch, because Allen tries to keep the action so subtly convoluted that some motivations remain elusive.
Lewis Allen directs this minor noir that purportedly also delves into the realm of horror with some flair, relying on John Seitz's sound cinematography, and solid acting across the board, with Herbert Marshall the ever classy, unperturbed performer despite the wooden leg (I do not easily recall an actor who played evil and good characters with similar charm).
The script is not the film's forte. I could not quite understand the part played by Isobel Elsom, for instance, and the villain's identification struck me as rather tame.
At any rate, with a cast of this quality and beauties like Russel and Brooks, and McCrea's engaging persona, it is well worth a watch - and a re-watch, because Allen tries to keep the action so subtly convoluted that some motivations remain elusive.