This 1947 screen version is the third or fourth screen adaptation I believe of the novel by the same name, and although I haven't seen any of the other versions, I want to very much after seeing this one, starring Phillip Terry, Jacqueline White, and Eduardo Ciannelli.
The film is about an author, played by Terry, who makes a bet with an innkeeper that he can write an entire novel in 24 hours in the isolation and remoteness of Baldpate Inn, a place closed in the wintertime. Determined to win the bet, he goes to Baldpate, but not before being warned by a beautiful woman about the place and the dangers it possesses. This woman, in reality, is the innkeeper's secretary, who was sent by the innkeeper to try and scare Terry off from following through with the bet and leaving the inn before he's supposed to. But, when this Secretary begins to realize that she and Terry really ARE both in danger, things get good as she and Terry desperately attempt to get out of the inn, but with no success. Will they be able to escape? Or will the strange men lurking around the place see to it that they go nowhere for a very, very long time?
A common complaint about this film is the fact that it loses momentum and suspense after the first thirty minutes. Although everybody is entitled to their own opinion, I tend to disagree with that statement. In my opinion, the entire film is fast-paced and suspenseful enough to keep you at the edge of your seat for the entire sixty-four minutes it runs for.
One highlight about the film, however, is Jacqueline White. She was in another RKO film noir that year, one that would become a classic, Crossfire. Her performance in that film really attracted my attention and I decided to look further into her career and what it was like. It seems that she signed a contract with MGM in the early 1940's and was wasted in mostly uncredited parts, with the exception of her leading female role in the Laurel and Hardy comedy Air Raid Wardens. Eventually, in 1947, her contract was bought out by RKO, and she found more success there, starring in films such as this one and Crossfire, with some other hidden gems such as Mystery in Mexico and one that I'm sure everybody knows about... The Narrow Margin. After 1952, however, she focused on her family, and raising her two little children that were to be followed by three more. In this film, I find Jacqueline's performance to be pretty good for a standard role with no major surprises (except when we find out that she's the innkeeper's secretary) or depth. Since Jacqueline hasn't been brought up as much in other reviews, I thought it'd be nice to point her out and the contribution she made to this film, and the entire industry. Of course, she never reached star status, but she did have some good roles in some even better "B" pictures at RKO in the late 1940's, and I think her talent shouldn't pass by without being mentioned. She's still alive today at the ripe age of 96, living in Houston, Texas with her family.
Along with White, Phillip Terry, another RKO star in the 1940's, was the leading man. I'd known him from previous films he was in, such as Beat The Band and Born To Kill, both released in the same year as this one, 1947. I like him as an actor, and I think his performance was fine in this one, contrary to popular opinion. I think he handles the comedy aspects of it well and the other things, too.
Eduardo Ciannelli was obviously the perfect choice for this role. He really sends chills down your spine and the minute you see his face pop up on the screen for the first time, you know something is going to go down.
Margaret Lindsay was the second female lead, and makes a pretty good femme fatale. This was during the latter years of her career, after she'd been a successful star at Warner Bros. in the 1930's.
So, all in all, a great film, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes mystery, suspense, and just a quick little movie to enjoy on a rainy or snowy night when there isn't anything else to do :)
The film is about an author, played by Terry, who makes a bet with an innkeeper that he can write an entire novel in 24 hours in the isolation and remoteness of Baldpate Inn, a place closed in the wintertime. Determined to win the bet, he goes to Baldpate, but not before being warned by a beautiful woman about the place and the dangers it possesses. This woman, in reality, is the innkeeper's secretary, who was sent by the innkeeper to try and scare Terry off from following through with the bet and leaving the inn before he's supposed to. But, when this Secretary begins to realize that she and Terry really ARE both in danger, things get good as she and Terry desperately attempt to get out of the inn, but with no success. Will they be able to escape? Or will the strange men lurking around the place see to it that they go nowhere for a very, very long time?
A common complaint about this film is the fact that it loses momentum and suspense after the first thirty minutes. Although everybody is entitled to their own opinion, I tend to disagree with that statement. In my opinion, the entire film is fast-paced and suspenseful enough to keep you at the edge of your seat for the entire sixty-four minutes it runs for.
One highlight about the film, however, is Jacqueline White. She was in another RKO film noir that year, one that would become a classic, Crossfire. Her performance in that film really attracted my attention and I decided to look further into her career and what it was like. It seems that she signed a contract with MGM in the early 1940's and was wasted in mostly uncredited parts, with the exception of her leading female role in the Laurel and Hardy comedy Air Raid Wardens. Eventually, in 1947, her contract was bought out by RKO, and she found more success there, starring in films such as this one and Crossfire, with some other hidden gems such as Mystery in Mexico and one that I'm sure everybody knows about... The Narrow Margin. After 1952, however, she focused on her family, and raising her two little children that were to be followed by three more. In this film, I find Jacqueline's performance to be pretty good for a standard role with no major surprises (except when we find out that she's the innkeeper's secretary) or depth. Since Jacqueline hasn't been brought up as much in other reviews, I thought it'd be nice to point her out and the contribution she made to this film, and the entire industry. Of course, she never reached star status, but she did have some good roles in some even better "B" pictures at RKO in the late 1940's, and I think her talent shouldn't pass by without being mentioned. She's still alive today at the ripe age of 96, living in Houston, Texas with her family.
Along with White, Phillip Terry, another RKO star in the 1940's, was the leading man. I'd known him from previous films he was in, such as Beat The Band and Born To Kill, both released in the same year as this one, 1947. I like him as an actor, and I think his performance was fine in this one, contrary to popular opinion. I think he handles the comedy aspects of it well and the other things, too.
Eduardo Ciannelli was obviously the perfect choice for this role. He really sends chills down your spine and the minute you see his face pop up on the screen for the first time, you know something is going to go down.
Margaret Lindsay was the second female lead, and makes a pretty good femme fatale. This was during the latter years of her career, after she'd been a successful star at Warner Bros. in the 1930's.
So, all in all, a great film, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes mystery, suspense, and just a quick little movie to enjoy on a rainy or snowy night when there isn't anything else to do :)