This movie has the dubious honor of being the first I ever watched in a hospital, but it was a nice one anyway. It was also the first one I ever saw with Barbara Stanwyck, a reputedly very good actress.And good she was indeed, but mostly it was interesting to see how different an old-Hollywood movie looked from today's typical fare. The action was more slow-paced, the acting more dramatic and theatrical, and the script so simple and yet effective.
Ah... the Golden Age of American movies...
Anyway, the whole plot revolves around a rich woman, played by Stanwyck, who marries "beneath" her and eventually becomes the target of an assassination plot, engineered by her husband to inherit her fortune and free himself of her dominating father.
Naturally, things don't exactly go as programmed, and our heroine is somehow clued in to her upcoming demise by an unlikely telephone interception. Will she be able to stop the killer before it's too late?
As I said, Stanwyck is really good, which is crucial since virtually the entire movie revolves around her lying in her bed, talking on the phone, and looking distraught. The rest of the cast, including Burt Lancaster as her fictional husband, is fine and supports her admirably.
All in all, an enjoyable film from a time long gone.
Grade: 7
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