Believe it or not, Whirlpool (1949) is my very first Otto Preminger film, probably because I consume a tremendous deal of time rummaging around in the cinematic `bargain bin’, meaning many of the movies I notice (almost exclusively on DVD) tend not to be of the highest caliber…that’s not to say I don’t devour improbable films like this, but I may not review them as often as I should…anyway, based on a unique by Guy Endore titled “Methinks The Lady”, and directed by Otto Preminger (Laura, The Man with the Golden Arm, Porgy and Bess), the film stars the very shapely Gene Tierney (Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, The Razor’s Edge), Richard Conte (Call Northside 777, The Blue Gardenia, Ocean’s Eleven), and José Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac, Moulin Rouge), whom I’m thankful to glance in a decent, if not helpful role, given the last two films I saw him in, Dracula’s Dog (1978) and Bloody Birthday (1981), were hardly vehicles that showcased his lawful talents, but I recount in Hollywood, to absorb a sense of longevity in terms of an acting career, you occupy what you can collect…also appearing is Charles Bickford (Brute Force, A Star Is Born) and Barbara O’Neil (Gone with the Wind, I Remember Mama) .

Buy,Download, Or Stream Whirlpool! Click Here

As the film begins we study an dazzling woman (Tierney) leaving a department store (stores have valet parking? I gotta win out more…), soon to be accosted by the store detective, as she’s caught stealing an expensive trinket. As she’s hauled support in, protesting all the intention, a man named David Korvo (Ferrer) recognizes the woman, and comes to her aide. Turns out she’s Ann Sutton, wife to a prominent and affluent psychoanalyst named Dr. William Sutton (Conte) . The management, seeing the possibility of negative publicity for the store, releases Ann (must be nice…if this happened to me I’d probably be enjoying the comforts of a 6 by 9 concrete room with paunchy man named Bubba), but thus begins her relationship with Korvo, an oily, opportunistic, highly quick-witted and perceptive con artist who passes himself off as a doctor of sort, his specialty being astrology and hypnosis. Given this unusual event, you’d believe it a prime opportunity for blackmail, but Korvo expresses interest in helping Ann with her issues, which include a persistent case of insomnia. Ann secretly takes Korvo up on his offer mainly due to the fact her husband doesn’t know about her condition, as she’s disturbed of the adverse effects her problems may have on her husband’s career (and their marriage) if word ever got out, but Korvo’s machinations explain a slippery slope marked with lies, deceit, and even slay.

There were two stand out performances here for me, that of Gene Tierney, sporting a very short hairdo (she looks so noteworthy better with it long), and José Ferrer, whose credentials I began to expect lately due to some of his later choices in film roles. Tierney does a expansive job filling out her character, one corpulent of emotion, passion, apprehension, appreciate, and confusion. She’s a strong, gorgeous, and sparkling woman, struggling with her supposed role in life, specifically the perceptions of what she’s supposed to be, and what she would like to be…the psychological conflict is purposely buried, but ends up manifesting itself in weird behavior. Ferrer’s character, picks up on this enough so to work himself around it, insinuating himself into Ann’s life, and setting in motion a carefully crafted, highly devious idea designed to misdirect, confuse, and obfuscate the truth. Oh how I hated him (his character, that is) …he was so manipulative, smug and pretentious…and greasy…oh, not physically, but on the inside. Some of my popular lines in the film occur at the afternoon society party thrown for Korvo, as he makes various cloaked, verbal jabs at his host…was she deserving? Probably so, but once you find a burly realization of from who the remarks are coming from, it tends to feel great like the pot calling the kettle unlit, except for the fact the kettle is really only gray and the pot is completely charred. Does that acquire sense? Probably not…the really titillating thing about this movie is I doubt any of the characters here are people I’d want to use time with…a thief who has clandestine meetings with another man and keeps past indiscretions from her spouse, her knuckleheaded husband who sees his wife as more of a trophy rather than an individual, despite positive signs the role is not a capable fit for her, and a top notch con man willing to do anything to protect himself from inconvenience. As far as the rest of the performances, some were obedient, albeit familiar (Bickford), while others seemed acceptable (Conte) . As colorful as Conte’s character was supposed to be, he seemed always a few steps (at least) tedious what was actually going on…I guess the concern I had here was not with the performer, but more so the character, as he presented these perfectly simplistic notions with regards to his relationship with his wife (along with some associated lines of dialog), unable to sense the turmoil developing within, especially given his profession. Was it a case of not seeing the forest for the trees? No, it was more like not seeing the forest or the trees…I found it hard to bewitch off that Conte’s character could be as celebrated and respected as he was within his profession, yet so dense when it came to his enjoy wife. Despite this gripe, the overall tale is solid, consuming and filmed immaculately well, and the dialog strong and supportive and in tune of the differing characters and the performers playing them. The chronicle does feature some fantastical elements to be certain, but there’s a level of complexity within the material that can actually succor the burden, and build a sense of plausibility, for myself, at least…

Buy,Download, Or Stream Whirlpool! Click Here

The represent on this DVD, presented in the unique aspect ration (1.33:1), looks exceptionally well-kept and attractive, and the audio comes through honorable, available in both Dolby Digital stereo and Dolby Digital mono. Special features include a commentary track with film critic Richard Schickel, a theatrical trailer, and trailers for other Fox noir DVD releases like Call Northside 777 (1948), The Shadowy Corner (1946), House of Bamboo (1955), Laura (1944), Nightmare Alley (), Awe in the Streets (1947), and The Street with No Name (1948) .

Cookieman108

This film and its DVD treatment are trustworthy. There’s nothing left to say that hasn’t already been said in gigantic detail by other reviewers but as a classic film fanatic and a film noir junkie I cannot recommend this title enough. If you’ve seen and enjoyed ‘Laura’ and or ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends’, both also starring the breath-taking Gene Tierney and directed by Otto Preminger, have no hesitation in securing this DVD for your collection. The designate is at least half what it’s worth!
natural remedies for eczema