During the forties the cinema, both in Britain and America, seemed to be in love with the science of psychiatry, and there was a cycle of films in which psychiatrists play an important role. There was Hitchcock's "Spellbound" from 1945, and John Brahm's "The Locket" from the following year. Two British examples are "The Seventh Veil" and "Madonna of the Seven Moons", both from 1945. "Whirlpool" (1949) is another in the same vein. (The scriptwriter, Ben Hecht, had also written the screenplay for "Spellbound").
The main character is Ann Sutton, the wife of a psychoanalyst. Although her husband William is supposed to be highly successful in his profession, he seems quite unaware that his wife herself has serious psychological problems, which manifest themselves in kleptomania. Ann is arrested for shoplifting, but is saved from scandal by the intervention of a mysterious stranger named David Korvo. Korvo turns out to be a hypnotist and claims to be a psychiatrist, although he has no recognised medical qualifications. He offers to cure Ann of her psychological traumas, but turns out to be a sinister fraud. Ann is implicated in, and accused of, a murder committed by Korvo, that of his former patient and lover Theresa Randolph who was threatening to expose him. It falls to the loyal William to clear his wife of suspicion and to resolve her psychological traumas.
Of the three main characters, the weakest is the stolid and unemotional Richard Conte as William. Certainly, his character is supposed to be a calm, rational man of science, but even a man of science cannot be expected to remain calm and rational all the time, even when it is suggested to him (as it is to William in this movie) that his wife is having an affair with another man. Conte's stony-faced demeanour seems particularly inappropriate as the film was made as a melodrama, a style of drama that normally calls for emotionally heightened, non-naturalistic acting.
José Ferrer, however, is excellent as Korvo, a smooth and plausible yet reptilian villain. Even when he is seemingly kind and helpful, one can sense his base motives hidden below the surface appearance of friendliness and concern. The audience can tell, even if she cannot, that Ann will be the victim of some devious plot.
One of the great attractions of the film is that it stars Gene Tierney, one of the most beautiful actresses of all time and, in my view, possibly the most beautiful star of the forties. (As her rivals included the likes of Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Ingrid Bergman and Jennifer Jones there is a lot of competition for that particular title). Gene here is excellent at suggesting the helplessness and vulnerability of her character; even when Ann is not literally in a trance, she is in a state of bewilderment, unable to control her compulsions, unable to understand what is happening to her, unsure even of whether or not she committed the crime of which she stands accused.
The film has sometimes been described as a "film noir", although to my mind it lacks a number of typical noir characteristics- the stark expressionist photography, the atmosphere of moral ambiguity, the lone male hero, the femme fatale (although Korvo can perhaps be seen as an "homme fatal"). Otto Preminger was certainly known as a noir director, making films such as "Laura" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends", both of which also starred Tierney, who seems to have been one of his favourite actresses. He was, however, a versatile director, who could also turn his hand to other genres such as historical costume drama ("Forever Amber"), the musical ("Carmen Jones") the Western ("River of No Return") or, as here, the psychological thriller.
Like a number of films from this period, "Whirlpool" looks very dated today, both in terms of its visual style and in terms of its plot. Visually, it is an example of what I think of as "filmed theatre", the sort of film shot indoors, normally in black-and-white, on a small number of theatrical-looking sets and in which dialogue takes priority over action. The plot is complex and the dialogue is often overwrought and hysterical. Yet , like "The Locket" and "The Seventh Veil", this is one forties psychological melodrama that remains watchable, largely because of some decent acting. 6/10
The main character is Ann Sutton, the wife of a psychoanalyst. Although her husband William is supposed to be highly successful in his profession, he seems quite unaware that his wife herself has serious psychological problems, which manifest themselves in kleptomania. Ann is arrested for shoplifting, but is saved from scandal by the intervention of a mysterious stranger named David Korvo. Korvo turns out to be a hypnotist and claims to be a psychiatrist, although he has no recognised medical qualifications. He offers to cure Ann of her psychological traumas, but turns out to be a sinister fraud. Ann is implicated in, and accused of, a murder committed by Korvo, that of his former patient and lover Theresa Randolph who was threatening to expose him. It falls to the loyal William to clear his wife of suspicion and to resolve her psychological traumas.
Of the three main characters, the weakest is the stolid and unemotional Richard Conte as William. Certainly, his character is supposed to be a calm, rational man of science, but even a man of science cannot be expected to remain calm and rational all the time, even when it is suggested to him (as it is to William in this movie) that his wife is having an affair with another man. Conte's stony-faced demeanour seems particularly inappropriate as the film was made as a melodrama, a style of drama that normally calls for emotionally heightened, non-naturalistic acting.
José Ferrer, however, is excellent as Korvo, a smooth and plausible yet reptilian villain. Even when he is seemingly kind and helpful, one can sense his base motives hidden below the surface appearance of friendliness and concern. The audience can tell, even if she cannot, that Ann will be the victim of some devious plot.
One of the great attractions of the film is that it stars Gene Tierney, one of the most beautiful actresses of all time and, in my view, possibly the most beautiful star of the forties. (As her rivals included the likes of Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Ingrid Bergman and Jennifer Jones there is a lot of competition for that particular title). Gene here is excellent at suggesting the helplessness and vulnerability of her character; even when Ann is not literally in a trance, she is in a state of bewilderment, unable to control her compulsions, unable to understand what is happening to her, unsure even of whether or not she committed the crime of which she stands accused.
The film has sometimes been described as a "film noir", although to my mind it lacks a number of typical noir characteristics- the stark expressionist photography, the atmosphere of moral ambiguity, the lone male hero, the femme fatale (although Korvo can perhaps be seen as an "homme fatal"). Otto Preminger was certainly known as a noir director, making films such as "Laura" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends", both of which also starred Tierney, who seems to have been one of his favourite actresses. He was, however, a versatile director, who could also turn his hand to other genres such as historical costume drama ("Forever Amber"), the musical ("Carmen Jones") the Western ("River of No Return") or, as here, the psychological thriller.
Like a number of films from this period, "Whirlpool" looks very dated today, both in terms of its visual style and in terms of its plot. Visually, it is an example of what I think of as "filmed theatre", the sort of film shot indoors, normally in black-and-white, on a small number of theatrical-looking sets and in which dialogue takes priority over action. The plot is complex and the dialogue is often overwrought and hysterical. Yet , like "The Locket" and "The Seventh Veil", this is one forties psychological melodrama that remains watchable, largely because of some decent acting. 6/10