This is Richard Brooks' first directorial effort. Examining the work half a century after it was made, the film presents a director who knows how to get the most from his actors through the written word and the way it is spoken. Three actors sparkle: Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer, and Signe Hasso.
Compare Cary Grant's acting in the Hitchcock vehicles and in this. Grant presents a maturity in his speech patterns that do not show up under Hitchcock's direction. I think much of the quality of the performances is probably due to the director who took his first film seriously--probably a lot more than he did in his later career.
All in all, this is a curious film--quite unusual in several ways compared to the average Hollywood products in the Fifties. Is it only a question of humanism winning over all evils? Or more?
Compare Cary Grant's acting in the Hitchcock vehicles and in this. Grant presents a maturity in his speech patterns that do not show up under Hitchcock's direction. I think much of the quality of the performances is probably due to the director who took his first film seriously--probably a lot more than he did in his later career.
All in all, this is a curious film--quite unusual in several ways compared to the average Hollywood products in the Fifties. Is it only a question of humanism winning over all evils? Or more?