1941 Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
A young promoter is accused of the murder of Vicky Lynn, a young actress he "discovered" as a waitress while out with ex-actor Robin Ray and gossip columnist Larry Evans.
Betty Grable Victor Mature Carole Landis Laird Cregar William Gargan Alan Mowbray Allyn Joslyn Elisha Cook Jr. Chick Chandler Cyril Ring Morris Ankrum Charles Lane Frank Orth Gregory Gaye May Beatty Brooks Benedict Edward Biby Stanley Blystone Wade Boteler John Breen Ralph Brooks Russ Clark Stanley Clements James Conaty Heinie Conklin Bob Cornell Dorothy Dearing Eddie Dunn Ralph Dunn Show All…
Me despierto gritando, Quem Matou Vicki?, ¿Quién mató a Vicky?, Silmukka kiristyy, Qui a tué Vicky Lynn?, Hot Spot, I wake Up Screaming, Agapi pou skotonei, Situazione pericolosa, Vanidad fatal, Acordei aos Gritos, Mă trezesc ţipând, En studie i brott, Ночной кошмар
Let’s just dwell for a moment on that title. Brilliant, isn’t it? One of my favourites. It doesn’t have a tremendous amount to do with the plot, but it strikes a pleasing note of terror and despair, which I think we can all get behind.
I Wake Up Screaming.
Lovely.
The film itself is a little less wonderful than its name, but only a little. It’s also extremely important, especially in the evolution of one of classic cinema’s most modern diversions: the swerve into the abyss that was film noir.
Noir, memorably described by Lee Server as “the genre that didn’t know its own name”, was a hybrid of German expressionism, French poetic realism and post-isolation American malaise, peopled by…
Noir-November Challenge! Movie #41
A decent watch due to a great cast Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis and Laird Cregar!
Some good acting, NOIRish shadows and angles scattered about! Not too shabby but on the other hand I'm not jumping up and down out of excitement either!
A young model is found murdered and the prime suspect seems to be the sports promoter who discovered her working as a waitress and engineered her ascent to fame. He gets cleared initially but a relentless detective who is obsessed with the case refuses to accept the findings and continues his own investigation.
Well-made whodunit which bears all the stylistic earmarks that would later characterize the film noir. Director Cumberstone's use of a non-linear narrative (the same year "Citizen Kane" popularized that technique) is another thing that makes "I Wake Up screaming" stand out from the other contemporary features.
Dramatically it also takes a couple of chances, especially when it comes to the depiction of one character's sexual obsession with…
Well worth seeing if only for the top notch performance of the brilliant Laird Cregar. He simply shines. This film is a great introduction for anyone unfamiliar with this underrated, fantastically talented actor.
Unique soundtrack and great lighting.
20th Century Fox stumbles into Film-Noir out of nowhere with I Wake Up Screaming (1941). From what I understand this wasn't supposed to such a dark movie, but they went with it and so started their journey into what's become a favorite style of movie lovers with the shadowy tones and intense mind games. Because the style wasn't tweaked for this production, the characters becomes a rather grossly exaggerated, which in a strange way enhances the experience for a real blend of the classic Hollywood entertainment and dangerous feel of expressionism. Betty Grable is almost too sweet for her role, but give a little shadow to Victor Mature's face and you have the right contrast! There is no doubting the…
Hmm. Let's start with the negatives. I frequently found myself making a face like I had just caught a whiff of some terrible smell. That's because a lot of this dialogue stinks. Don't watch this if you're looking for snappy one liners, hardboiled tough talk, or creative insults.
Victor Mature gets a lot of flack but I liked what I had seen prior to this (Kiss Of Death, Violent Saturday, Cry Of The City). But he was pretty bad here. Cheese and ham. And cheese and ham are generally what stops this film from being really good: there is even a "cute" (cringey) little scene in a swimming pool, for no other apparent reason than to show the leads in…
Even though no one wakes up screaming, this template noir whodunnit serves up just what it promises, and a little extra thanks to a lot of compelling performances.
Carole Landis embodies the carelessly ambitious would-be actress, and Betty Grable is her steady, cautionary sister. Carole Landis’ character embroils them both in a world of sports promoters, journalists and Hollywood dreams, only for the fun to come to a screeching halt.
The case is left to a menacing detective, but it’s ultimately up to Betty Grable’s character to avenge her sister and fall in love along the way.
The plot may not untangle in a perfectly satisfying way, but it’s a fun watch nevertheless.
Originally titled ‘Hot Spot’ this noir is based on the novel of the same name by Steve Fisher, who co-wrote the screenplay with Dwight Taylor. The film stars Victor Mature as a young promoter named Frankie Christopher. He ends up accused of the murder of Vicky Lynn. A young actress he "discovered" as a waitress while out with ex-actor Robin Ray (Alan Mowbray) and gossip columnist Larry Evans (Allyn Joslyn). Frankie hides out with Vicky's sister, Jill (Betty Grable), with whom he ends up falling in love. In the midst of the fray Frankie is interrogated by the cops, followed and being set-up by an obsessive police officer named Cornell (Laird Cregar) who knows that Frankie is innocent but because…
About five or so years ago, I saw Laird Cregar in Hangover Square and was incredibly impressed by him and sought out more of his work. There's not much of it. He died at age 31 from cardiac complications brought on by crash dieting. In the brief time he was a working actor, though, boy was he good.
His work in I Wake Up Screaming is no exception. It's also a pretty decent film noir. Betty Grable and Carole Landis play sisters. Grable is the lead here and plays the hardworking secretary who is disapproving when Landis ditches her waitress job to go chasing the fame promised to her by promoter Victor Mature. Grable's fears are justified by the text…
Boy, what a title, right? You may not guess that they allow Betty Grable unrestrained adorability in it, plus jokes and repeated uses of the instrumentals for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It's grand.
Noirvember: Film 3
"And finally one morning, things came to a climax."
A strong cast bolsters this fairly average noir. Betty Grable really outshines the group, especially Victor Mature. Laird Cregar is pretty awesome as the crooked cop who haunts our hero and appears like the devil at the worst moments. The script is pretty awkward as my quote about shows. Also, "Over the Rainbow" is used as the theme and it gets kind of distracting. I also found its twists a little underwhelming. Still, it is a decent, shadow-filled noir.
No classic but Laird Cregar is so brilliant in his role he basically overwhelms the movie. This side of the film effectively prepares the way for Laura, a much better film, with its obsessive fascination with a dead woman. If only the film had kept on mining that bit of the plot we would have had a complete minor masterpiece on our hands
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