Twentieth
Century-Fox, 70m 6s
One of
the best one-word film noir titles, SHOCK opens in San Francisco, where
Janet Stewart (Anabel Shaw, HIGH TIDE,
GUN CRAZY) plans to reunite with her
husband Paul (Frank Latimore, THE
RAZOR'S EDGE, 13 RUE MADELEINE),
who was a POW for two years. Before Paul returns, Janet's attention is called
to the neighboring apartment in which a man and his wife are having a heated
discussion. The man grabs a candlestick and silences his wife. Horrified to
have witnessed murder, Janet is unresponsive when her husband arrives on the
scene. A well-meaning physician (Selmer Jackson) recommends local psychiatrist
Dr. Richard Cross (Vincent Price, LAURA,
LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN), who unsurprisingly happens to be the wife killer. Cross
quickly deduces the probable cause of Janet's condition, and recommends that she
be carted out to his isolated sanitarium.
Janet (Anabel Shaw) under the very questionable care of Dr. Cross (Vincent Price) |
As John
Stanley asserts in the Fox Film Noir DVD's audio commentary track, that Janet
and Dr. Cross should become acquainted is best explained as fate, not coincidence. Cross is the
classic noir protagonist, haunted by
an inescapable past. He has done something terribly wrong that cannot be
undone, and sooner or later, he's got to pay. Where did he go wrong? Devotion
to the wrong woman leads to deceit, murder, more deceit, and more murder. Nurse
Elaine Jordan (Lynn Bari, THE AMAZING
MR. X) is the spider woman who compels Cross to consistently do the exact
opposite of the right thing.
Janet (Anabel Shaw) is kept in a vegetative state |
Director
Alfred L. Werker (HE WALKED BY NIGHT)
gets a lot out of the 20th Century Fox backlot where SHOCK was filmed. The noir
atmosphere is evident in the early going, with a surreal dream sequence that
confirms Janet was unstable before
witnessing murder. The Cross lodge appears as much a
prison as his sanitarium, with low ceilings nicely accentuated by camera
placement. Co-cinematographer Joe MacDonald's formidable noir credentials would expand with THE DARK CORNER, CALL NORTHSIDE 777, THE
STREET WITH NO NAME, PANIC IN THE
STREETS and PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET.
Screenwriter Eugene Ling went on to co-write other noir films of interest, including BEHIND LOCKED DOORS, PORT OF
NEW YORK and SCANDAL SHEET.
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