User reviews

Robert Siodmak does a fabulous job with this B noir starring Ella Raines, Franchot Tone, and Alan Curtis. And he does it, I might add, without a lot of help from his male actors, i.e., Curtis and Tone. It's Raines all the way, a pretty, leggy actress who for one reason or another never reached the status of some of her "noir" counterparts.

Siodmak's use of sex, light, shadows, and music is truly remarkable as he tackles this genre. The shadows, lighting effects, and camera angles are all effective. But the highlight of the film takes place in a nightclub with a very sexual drum riff by Elisha Cook, egged on by an excited Raines. It's this scene that brings "Phantom Lady" into new territory.

Siodmak's commitment to the material is matched only by Raines, who gives a sincere performance as a woman in love trying to save her man. Franchot Tone phoned this one in. Alan Curtis didn't seem upset that he might die and didn't seem happy that he lived. And he never, except for a brief moment in prison, seemed to be in love with Raines.

The amusing thing about many of these films is that, as World War II progressed, interest in psychiatry deepened. But often the terms were used incorrectly in films such as "Possessed," "Spellbound," and "The Greatest Show on Earth." Tone is called paranoid by Thomas Gomez - Tone probably has some paranoia attached to his disorder, but he appears to be closer to a psychopath. In actuality, as evidenced by his headaches, he may have had a brain tumor pushing against his brain.

Phantom Lady doesn't have the greatest plot, but it's well worth watching.

I'll admit that I like a certain degree of plausibility in films. Thus, it was hard for me to totally embrace this movie after watching the scene in which the husband (Alan Curtis) comes home to his darkened apartment and calls out for his wife, wondering where she is,unaware that detectives were there waiting for him. It was obvious that Curtis expected the wife to be home, not to mention alive, yet the detectives never took this into consideration. If you strangled your spouse, would you return home later and call out for her? Besides, who could have tipped off the detectives that a murder had occurred? OK, if you get by these sore spots, you'll find a well-made film noir that is worth watching.

This is a strange little movie.......a film noir with some good performances and some not so good. You often see this film on lists of noir classics but it raises the inevitable question....is it a classic or does it have just too many faults to raise it to the level of winners like "DOA", "The Big Sleep" or "Night and the City".

The premise is fairly good. A man can't prove his whereabouts when his wife is murdered and can only describe his alibi as an unknown woman wearing a rather distinctive hat The story follows the hero's secretary and a sympathetic policeman as they try to prove his innocence. Alan Curtis is a disaster as a gloomy, rather unlikeable man who pretty much gives up trying to find the real killer and becomes resigned to his fate. He doesn't put up much of a fight and his attitude doesn't help much. The lovely Ella Raines portrays the secretary who gets herself into some uncomfortable situations, especially with Elisha Cooke Jr as the drummer man with the plan. Plenty has been said about the drumming scene which somehow sneaked by the censors. It has to be seen to be believed.......whew!!

Franchot Tone plays the hero's best friend and I am still trying to figure out if his playing of that part was really good or really bad. The answer is probably "really bad". The role is against type for him and he overdoes it. He does have a great apartment though!

Fay Helm, playing the woman with the hat, is strangely attractive and is just right for the "phantom lady". Thomas Gomez, as the friendly cop, does his usual good job. So is this film worth watching?......yes. It has some plot holes but overall it is enjoyable. Give it a try.

'Phantom Lady' (retitled in my country as 'Witness wanted') is a little gem for anyone who appreciates 1940s film noir. It need not feature any of the big stars (Bogart, Cagney, Laughton, Ladd etc.), because its strengths are its excellent b/w photography and an interesting story that doesn't rely on predictable clichés of the genre.

Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) is arrested for the murder of his wife. He is completely innocent, since he spent the evening at a theater with an unknown woman he invited after he met her at a bar (yes, his marriage has seen better days). But when asked for an alibi, not only that 'phantom lady' has disappeared, also several witnesses deny to have seen him with her. Thus, he's thrown into jail, and only his secretary (Ella Raines) and inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez) don't give up the investigation. When Marlow (Franchot Tone), an old friend of Henderson, offers his assistance, the investigation is taking up speed, but meanwhile another witness was murdered. How can they defend Henderson without witnesses?

What I liked especially about 'Phantom Lady' is that there is no actual hero. Henderson is giving up, sits in his prison cell all day and doesn't show any hope. It's almost like he wants to be imprisoned for something he didn't do. So it's really the secretary who becomes the central character, driving the search for the real murderer. Quite unusual for the times and well worth watching.

Sadly not available on DVD as yet, but worth pursuing on TCM or VHS. A secretary believes her boss is wrongly accused of murder, and courageously takes on many dangerous characters in an effort to establish the truth. A movie with many twists and dark alleyways, none of which I will mention! The jazz band sequence where our heroine seeks the information about the killer, is one of the most erotic scenes in Hollywood history, despite being at very low budget and made during WWII in black and white. Despite the low budget - Long Island looks somewhat mountainous - this is a movie of original style and outstanding vision. Ella Raines was a great actress discovered by Howard Hawks who knew much about these matters, casting the feistiest women - Joanne Dru, Hepburn, Angie Dickinson, Lauren Bacall, Ann Sheridan - of their era. Robert Siodmak was of one of several German, Hungarian & Czech film-makers - Sirk, Wilder, Zinnemann, Lubitsch, Curtiz,Lang, etc - who émigrés relocated to Hollywood, and brought a highly original fresh vision with them. Sadly Ella Raines was never given such a great part again, and eventually ended up in poorly produced westerns.

This is a very unusual film in that the star with the top billing doesn't appear literally until half way in. Nevertheless I was engaged by the hook of the Phantom Lady. Curtis, though competent as the falsely accused Scott Henderson, looks a little tough to be be sympathetic towards (perhaps he should have shaved his moustache) and his behavior when he first comes home should have convinced the cops at least to some degree of his innocence. While another commentator had a problem with Franchot Tone as Jack Marlowe I found his portrayal of the character to be impressively complex. He is no stock villain. Superb character actor Elisha Cook Jr. is again in top form as the 'little man with big ambitions.' His drumming in the musical numbers added a welcome touch of eroticism. This movie however is carried by the very capable and comely Ella Raines as the devoted would be lover of Henderson, Carol Richmond. She definitely has talent and her screen presence is in the tradition of Lauren Bacall. This is the first of her work I have seen and I am definitely inclined to see her other roles. The rest of the supporting cast is also more than competent. All in all a very satisfying film noir mystery which when viewed today fully conveys the dark and complex urban world it is intended to. Recommended, 8/10.

Overcooked film noir, enjoyable but nearly on a camp level. Ella Raines (always an interesting actress) plays a secretary attempting to clear her handsome boss on a murder charge, going after the real killer herself. Well-written B-picture--penned by Bernard C. Schoenfeld from a Cornell Woolrich novel--includes some very interesting staging and photography, one justifiably famous sequence with Elisha Cook, Jr. performing a manic drum solo. Supporting cast (including Franchot Tone and Alan Curtis) is a little weak, but Raines acquits herself nicely in this scenario. Film is overflowing with ham-handed touches, yet is undeniably potent in a trashy, seedy way. **1/2 from ****

This isn't the best film noir but in a way it's quintessential in this way: I saw this years ago, and I have such a hazy memory that it's almost like I didn't see it... I think (?) It's the kind of movie I used to throw on really late at night like at 2 AM and I might watch all of it or some of it and then the rest the next day, and it has the kind of film noir plot and execution that it blends into many other film noirs. I don't mean to say that as a put down or to its detriment, but this fits so well into how this mood and feel work involving murder and a woman-who-wasn't-there (or seemingly never was) and a mystery to find the missing woman and all of the twists and turns therein.

It might be because it doesn't have the top shelf cast of some of the other movies of the period - there's no Barbara Stanwyck or Robert Mitchum or Edward G Robinson or Burt Lancaster or Glenn Ford or the list goes on - and yet I don't remember anyone here being so bad or off-putting that I had to turn it off or felt like I didn't get my VHS rental's worth. Siodmak's a quality director, and this is clearly the forerunner to what he would perfect with The Killers and Criss Cross. I'm sure I should see it again so I can solidify my opinion of it, but in a way I think it's fitting that it's half-forgotten - it's almost like the way that the characters find themselves in this story, a mystery to track down something buried away and not wanting to be found.

Or something.

Scott Henderson, the engineer that employs Carol Richman, as his assistant, makes a point to call her "Kansas", whenever he speaks to her. It shows us that Carol, effectively played by Ella Raines, is supposed to be a babe in the woods, as far as the Manhattan of the 40s was concerned. Only a woman, from out of town, would follow the shady bartender to a solitary elevated subway. Even then, only a naive girl could undertake such an adventure.

Robert Siodmak directed this film noir very well. He shows a flair for infusing the story with a lot of raw sex that was surprising for those days. How else could we justify the way the drummer in the orchestra of the musical, where Scott takes the mysterious woman with an unusual hat, makes such an overt pass at a lady on a date? The drummer played with high voltage by Elisha Cook Jr. doesn't hide his desires for any of the ladies who sat in the front row of the hit musical where he plays. It was a real explicit invitation, first to the "phantom woman" of the story, Fay Helm; afterward, Cliff the drummer, insinuates himself very openly to Ella Raines who goes to the theater disguised as the mystery dame her boss had taken originally.

This is a film that will hook any viewer from the beginning. There are things not explained in it, but it holds the one's interest throughout. The killer is not revealed until the end.

Ella Raines with her expressive eyes was an under estimated actress. She holds her own against much more experienced actors. Franchot Tone, a New York stage actor, working in Hollywood, never found in this medium the fame he deserved. He is effective as the accused man's best friend. On the other hand, Alan Curtis, comes across as a man, who when framed, accepts his fate and is saved only by the tenacity of the woman who secretly loved him. Thomas Gomez, as the inspector Burgess, is an asset to the film as a detective who has his doubts the police had caught the man who committed the crime.

This movie will not disappoint.

I could spend all day pointing out the ways this didn't work, but, instead, I'll just say the script is weak, the actors are poorly directed, and it has a campy quality at times that doesn't fit the tone (excuse the pun). On the other hand, the cinematography is lovely, as is the set design and lighting, making it enjoyable to watch. Ella Raines, though unconvincing as the "cheap dame" that she has to play at one point, is quite sympathetic as the woman on a mission. There's also an excellently shot bebop jazz scene that is definitely a highlight. My final recommendation is that you start it and see where it takes you.

So how did the producers get that orgasmic release scene past the censors. Sure, Carol (Raines) and Cliff (Cook) are about ten feet apart as he pounds on the drums while she sways back and forth in total sync, their faces contorted in frenzied delight. There's no guesswork here. It's as close to the real thing as the decade gets, and a masterpiece of simulated ecstasy. I wonder what the set was like while filming this.

The movie's a tight little thriller, helmed by noir master Robert Siodmak. So who is it that's framing architect Henderson (Curtis) for his wife's murder. By golly, the lovelorn Carol is going to find out even if it leads her down every dark, scary street on the studio lot. And once she dons her cheap hep-cat outfit, that's just where she's headed. But it's that frenzied jazz scene with Cliff that steals the show. Everything after seems something of an anti-climax. However, be sure to catch that beautifully modulated scene where Carol plies the emotionally disturbed Ann (Helm) for access to the incriminating ladies' hat. It's poignantly done, especially by actress Helm.

No doubt, this is one of the noir highpoints of the period, with dark symbolism and atmospheric shadows aplenty. Also, Raines gives a winning performance as the unstoppable Carol, while Tone wisely refuses to go over the top as the psychopath. On the other hand, it's a good thing we don't see much of Curtis in both a badly written and dimly performed part. I'm guessing Siodmak cared little how that particularly conventional role came across. Anyway, for fans of 40's noir, this Universal programmer remains a must-see.

Although Franchot Tone does not appear in the film for the first half he rates top billing in Phantom Lady. I'm sure that when he signed for this film he saw he would be playing a part that was different than the roles he got a MGM for the most part.

Ella Raines is the one that carries this film. Her boss and Tone's partner Alan Curtis has been arrested for his wife's murder. She was no loss, from what we learn of her she was cheating right and left. Still murder is murder.

And Curtis's problem is the woman he picked up that night has vanished. She's his alibi witness. Like she was a Phantom Lady.

Even after the conviction Raines is determined to find this woman and she even has an ally in police detective Thomas Gomez who has never felt right about the case.

There's not much suspense and there sure is no mystery here because it isn't hard to figure out and the murderer is identified with 60% of the film done. The suspense is whether Raines can put it together and realize the danger she's walking into.

Besides those already mentioned look for good performances from Elisha Cook, Jr. as a hop head drummer, Aurora Miranda, Carmen's sister playing a Carmen Miranda like entertainer. In fact her outrageous hat like the ones her sister wore is an integral part of the mystery for Raines. Finally there is a really touching performance from Fay Helm in the title role. There is a sad reason why she has seemingly disappeared.

Between this one and Tall In The Saddle with John Wayne I think are Ella Raines's career roles. Both are very good.

Sitting in a bar brooding over his failing marriage, Scott Henderson ( Alan Curtis ) picks up a woman (Ann Terry) at a bar one night to just kill time. They catch a stage show then separate without ever exchanging names. Returning home he finds his wife strangled and a trio of skeptical detectives not buying his story. With the mysterious woman his only alibi he and the gumshoes retrace the night before with Henderson. Since the woman was wearing a flamboyant hat Curtis feels the bartender, cab driver and the Carmen Miranda (her sister Aurora) look alike performer who wore the same hat in her show will identify the woman and support his alibi but the witnesses uniformly deny ever seeing her. Henderson is quickly tried and sentenced to be executed. Only his faithful secretary Carol Richman (Ella Raines) aka Kansas believes in his innocence as she doggedly pursues witnesses to come clean.

Phantom Lady is a triumph of form over content. The far-fetched storyline is highly implausible but under the masterful direction of Robert Siodmak and cameraman Woody Bredell it rises above its material like the express elevator at the Empire State. Injecting menace and suspense in scene after scene as he puts Kansas in harm's way Siodmak presents us with some of the finest canvases in the noir canon along with some jarring editing and excellent audio to buttress the absorbing nightmarish world where nothing is certain.

Siodmak is further hampered by the leads who are pedestrian at best but Raines does have a bewitching fatale look and toughness about her that sustains interest as she gets herself into one predicament after another. A supporting cast of cynical cops and callous witnesses, especially Elisha Cooke Jr. as a real gone drummer also provides Phantom Lady with an ideal demographic of the noir world and with Siodmak at the helm you could not have a better guide.

PHANTOM LADY is an overpraised thriller penned by Cornel Woolrich (under the name Robert Irish here), full of film noir touches that make it a classic of German expressionism, as directed by Robert Siodmak. But there are so many loopholes and coincidences in the script that it can't bear close inspection without failing to reveal the gimmicky plot.

None of it is subtle. In fact, it's really a camp style film noir with ELISHA COOK, JR. contributing his most over-the-top portrayal of a psychotic drummer and FRANCHOT TONE having a grand melodramatic time depicting a man whose criminal conscience gives him plenty of headaches.

ELLA RAINES is pretty as a picture in her role as the persistent secretary of engineer ALAN CURTIS, who is intent on solving the crime he is accused of--namely, killing his wife. How she goes about her mission to prove his innocence requires a lot of disbelief to swallow before any of it is even remotely credible. Acting by the three leads is never above competent because of the thinly written characters they play.

What really hurts is that FAY HELM as the woman with the hat who eludes the track of those trying to find her (the Phantom Lady), plays her role in a completely synthetic and alienating way, never convincing. And AURORA MIRANDA plays the musical star diva with comic but overdone zest.

However, what's so admirable about the film is its use of noir touches throughout--the low-lit scenes, the shadowy menace, the rainswept streets, the interesting camera angles--all of which can be attributed to director Siodmak's hand behind the camera.

But as a Cornel Woolrich story, it falls short in many ways.

As a film noir favorite, it scores largely because of the excellent B&W photography which helps disguise the low-budget aspect of most of the sets.

This is a very good mystery thriller in the film noir mode, directed by the émigré German director Robert Siodmak. It is based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich. The plot may not be entirely original, but it is very effective. Alan Curtis is the leading man. He is little remembered today, partly because he died early at the age of only 43 in 1953, nine years after this film was released. Curtis is unhappily married and goes to a bar (in Manhattan) to have a drink to comfort himself. There he meets a mysterious woman in an outlandish hat, who takes a seat beside him but seems deeply preoccupied with her own troubles. Curtis has two tickets for a hit show to which he had intended to take his wife, but as she refused to go, he offers them to the woman, saying it is a shame for them to go to waste. He ends up taking the woman to the show, but she refuses to give him her name and she remains an enigma. He returns home later to find three policemen waiting for him, and his wife lying in the bedroom, having been strangled to death by one of his own ties while he was out. So we are faced with that favourite plot element of many such films, the need to find the mysterious woman who is the only person who can prove his alibi and prevent him being wrongly executed for the murder of his wife. Meanwhile, some witnesses have been bribed to lie about having seen him with the woman, and this raises sinister doubts as to what is really going on. Curtis's secretary, who secretly loves him, played by Ella Raines, sticks by him and does some detective work after he is arrested. She is determined to prove his innocence. Franchot Tone gives a chilling and convincing performance as a psychopathic killer, and the lines of dialogue given to him when he attempts to justify himself are even more chilling than his performance itself. Woolrich must have known a few crazies personally to get it so accurate. Elisha Cook Jr. has a significant role in the film, and he always lends an air of horrifying authenticity to any film noir, especially when he opens his eyes wide with terror in that special way he had. In this film, he shows that he is a good drummer in a jazz band. This is well worth watching.

Civil engineer Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) comes home one evening to find his wife murdered, and the police with just one suspect: him. Speedily convicted of the crime and sentenced to die, Henderson's only alibi is a stranger (Ann Terry), with whom he innocently spent time; he doesn't know her name or her address, and all others who saw her deny her existence. His principal defender is his loyal secretary, Carol Richman (Ella Raines). Dead ends and deceit, a murderous psychopath, and a looming execution date don't give Carol much to work with to free her boss.

Though not without flaws, principally in the plot, "Phantom Lady" is an interesting and enjoyable film noir. It's strongest points lie in the actors and directing. Ella Raines is lesser known today than many leading ladies of the black-and-white movie era, but she's under-rated, and shows herself most capable here, principally due to her character needing to find resources within herself that most characters don't need. She is the star, though Franchot Tone receives top billing due to his greater prominence at the time.

In regard to the other performers, "Phantom Lady" is a good example of both rather ordinary, and unbelievable characters being given more interest and credibility by the actors portraying them. Curtis makes his fall-guy likeable, while Tone manages to overcome the stereotyped traits given his character.

Thomas Gomez provides the police detective he plays with a sinister aspect at first, only to suggest later that it is part of his professional persona; an intriguing angle to the tough-cop character. Elisha Cook Jr, a mainstay of film noir, has perhaps the most memorable part as a particularly odious version of the crime-story weasel. His smarmy jazz drummer's opinion of himself is in inverse proportion to his genuine appeal.

The direction by Siodmak shows his style well. Its use of lighting to create scenes that are both complex and simple are a characteristic of the genre, and Siodmak was one of its principal proponents. Working with cinematographer Woody (Elwood) Bredell, with whom he would collaborate on "The Killers" (1946), Siodmak makes almost bare sets look menacing.

But in some scenes, it's all the director, as during the jive session in a basement, which is so claustrophobic and frenetic that one can practically see the loud, blaring music. And Henderson's initial police interrogation: the closing in of the detectives, grinning and malevolent, becomes reminiscent of a lynch-mob.

All of these advantages overcome the weak plot, which has several holes - such as the killer's alibi, described by that person with obvious pride but in fact hardly an alibi at all - and the detriment of revealing the murderer too early in the film. The story comes from a novel by William Irish, a pseudonym of the prolific Cornell Woolrich, and may not have been one of his most inventive. Even so, the cinematic adaptation is entertaining, if not quite involving, and worth a look.

(Two notes that don't really have a bearing on the recommendation of the film: one is that many American films that were made during World War Two, but are not war-related, simply ignore the conflict, as if the story occurred just before the war, or is set just after it. This one records the date of a trial as '1943', yet no one is in uniform and travel is unrestricted; the war goes unmentioned. This I found unusual.

And a more personal observation: I think the fashions in the 1940s were among the best of the century. Men, dressed as they were then, would look quite snazzy today, and not unduly out of place in a business meeting, while women's clothes were becoming to almost every age, size and shape. Except the hats. A hat figures in "Phantom Lady" - it is even billed as 'The Phantom Hat' in the opening credits - and is as prepostrous as many of them were. Yet it is the desideratum of several women in the movie. The look of every age has its incongruities. Women's hats take 'top' spot in the '40s.)