Fri 8 Jan 2021
A Movie Review by David Friend: CAST A CROOKED SHADOW (1958).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[7] Comments
CAST A CROOKED SHADOW. Associated British-Pathé, UK, 1958; Warner Brothers, US, 1958. Richard Todd, Anne Baxter, Herbert Lom, Alexander Knox. Director: Michael Anderson. Available on DVD.
Kimberly Prescott (Anne Baxter) is a young South African heiress of a diamond company living in a Spanish villa. She has had a trying year: her father had committed suicide while her brother, Ward, is believed to have died in a car accident. One night, there arrives a man (Richard Todd) who claims to be her late brother. Kimberly is angry with what she considers to be a distasteful joke.
The man is insistent, however, and can back up his claims with photographs and a detailed knowledge of their shared childhood. He swiftly installs himself in Kimberley’s villa and into her life, while local inspector Vargas (Herbert Lom) remains confused and concerned. Everyone considers Kimberley to be mad and even she begins to doubt herself. And then she realises her life is in danger.
This 1958 thriller riffs on one of the most intriguing of old chestnuts – the long-lost relative who may be an imposter, which was also the premise to Golden Age writer Josephine Fey’s 1949 novel Brat Farrar. Director Michael Anderson gives us a suspenseful, gothic melodrama which keeps the viewers wondering just how it will end. Richard Todd, who had just appeared in Yangtse Incident for Anderson, makes his character casual, creepy and occasionally even considerate, while Anne Baxter remains on the right side of hysterical. She does much of the heavy lifting here, appearing in most scenes, and maintains a difficult balance between anxiety and determination, while never appearing weak.
Of particular mention is Herbert Lom, surely one of the most underrated actors of his generation, who remains sympathetic as Vargas. He is intrigued and suspicious, but stymied by Ward’s plausible explanations. There’s also a quite excellent twist in the tale, which should not be considered too much beforehand.
This was another I saw on the Talking Pictures TV channel, on Christmas Day, and it was better than many current TV offerings. Anyone wanting a cosily creepy evening viewing, in the Daphne du Maurier tradition of clifftop terror, will do well to check this out.
Rating: *****
January 8th, 2021 at 4:58 am
I enjoyed it myself until the end credits rolled and it occurred to me that the guilty one could never be convicted on evidence like that.
January 8th, 2021 at 10:34 am
Which was brought to the screen in the early ’60’s by Hammer and Universal Pictures as Paranoiac. If you haven’t seen it, get it and see it-it’s amazing.
January 8th, 2021 at 2:10 pm
Funny you should mention that, Blake, as I’ve been slowly making my way through the Hammer thrillers, and shall be sure to see Paranoiac.
Do you have more recommendations? I’m always looking for new old thrillers 🙂
January 8th, 2021 at 6:54 pm
Fully agree re: Herbert Lom. That man was a helluva talented, deft, and dexterous actor.
Every time I see view him it’s clear; the finely-controlled style and restraint of his delivery. Although his features were heavy-set for most of his life; he was anything but stone-faced. He could bring the tiniest muscles of expression into play, to convey a reaction.
He could portray brutal gangsters, stuffy English lords, shy emigres, cold husbands, rakish romancers; horror; slapstick.
Folks might also be startled to learn that he even appeared in “The King and I” on the London stage; and made a very good job of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_and_I_(1953_London_cast_album)
Also glad to see any mention of Alexander Knox in a review (as found in the OP above).
January 8th, 2021 at 7:47 pm
Good job concealing that twist, which makes a very good film even better. Todd had played similar roles in Hitch’s STAGE FRIGHT and in LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE, and always well.
January 9th, 2021 at 12:38 pm
@David, just one more from Hammer; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmare_(1964_film)"Nightmare, a great classic whodunnit about a young girl (Jeannie Linden) who is being made to believe that she’s mentally ill and might end up like her mother, who killed her father when she was eight years old on her birthday. Now a teenager, she’s constantly suffering nightmares about being as insane as her mother, and also about being locked up in an asylum with her mother, fears that her guardian might be exploiting.
January 9th, 2021 at 4:03 pm
Thanks, Blake. I’ve not seen this one. Unfortunately I haven’t found it yet on either DVD or online. I’ll keep looking!