Thu 13 Jul 2023
An Archived PI Mpvie Review: THE DARK CORNER (1946).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[8] Comments
THE DARK CORNER. 20th Century Fox, 1946. Lucille Ball, Mark Stevens, Clifton Webb, William Bendix, Kurt Kreuger, Cathy Downs, Reed Hadley, Constance Collier, Eddie Heywood. Directed by Henry Hathaway. Currently available on YouTube. (See below.)
PI Brad Galt has a problem. Ge has a past that includes a stretch in a California prison for manslaughter – a crime he was framed for by a former partner, a romeo who specializes in blackmail om th side. They’re both in New York now, the fur about to fly.
Galt also has a good-looking secretary who believes in him, but who intends to wait for a wedding ring before fooling around. Stevens looks too soft to be believable to be a tough private eye, but Lucille Ball is delectable. She could work in my office any time.
July 13th, 2023 at 11:06 pm
Stevens was miscast, I did not think about this lack of toughness, only that he was wrong. Other than that, a pretty good picture in need of Dana Andrews. Not just tougher, but much better.
July 14th, 2023 at 12:42 am
It’s been far too long since I’ve seen this to say more about Mark Stevens in the role than I did back then, but I do like the suggestion of Dana Andrews in the part.
July 14th, 2023 at 8:00 am
This excellent film has been reviewed before on December 12, 2016.
July 14th, 2023 at 9:07 am
Lots of great comments in the review referenced by Walker:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=44385
July 14th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Thanks, guys, for finding that other old review. I was happy to see it again since it was long enough to go into details of the plot that this one was too short to do.
And all to the good, having discovered it again, I was able just now to replace the images that has gone missing.
July 15th, 2023 at 12:57 am
I will only point out that Stevens mostly played tough guys (including a pilot as Michael Shayne you can catch on YouTube) in films including STREET WITH NO NAME which is much tougher than this one.
Webb and Bendix are the best thing about this one, but I like Stevens P.I. here and have always wanted to read the Ross (Leo Rosten) novel it is based on.
July 15th, 2023 at 6:43 am
Obviously spawned by the success of LAURA, with Clifton Webb’s murderous aesthete, DARK CORNER in its turn, spawned THE WEB, with Vincent Price (from LAURA) and William Bendix (from this film.)
July 15th, 2023 at 9:14 pm
Dan, the film pretty much is a showcase for Webb and Bendix who seem to know it.