I Wake Up Screaming

 

 

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20th Century Fox presents "I WAKE UP SCREAMING" (1941) (82 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Well-known New York sports promoter Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) is the prime suspect in the murder of Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis), a successful model and would-be actress --- Questioned relentlessly by the police, and particularly by hulking detective squad commander Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar), he maintains his innocence --- Meanwhile, Vicky's sister Jill (Betty Grable) is also being questioned --- Their answers, given in adjoining interrogation rooms, become the basis for brief, neatly constructed interlocking flashbacks at the opening of the movie that explain the plot in very little time --- Both are released after admitting nothing, and the police begin working on other suspects, including journalist Larry Evans (Allyn Joslyn), aging actor Robin Ray (Alan Mowbray), and hotel clerk William Harrison (Elisha Cook Jr.) --- Jill had little use for Frankie, the man who had been promoting her sister's career, but the two are drawn together in the course of trying to sort out their lives and the murder of her sister, and her realization that Frankie is capable of truly loving a woman, and not just exploiting her --- Meanwhile, Cornell makes it his business to pressure and torment Frankie, illegally entering his apartment and promising him an arrest and a death sentence --- Eventually, the noose seems to tighten around Frankie as the circumstantial evidence piles up, until Frankie, trying to clear himself, uncovers a clue leading back to the real killer who was known to Cornell all along!

Top film noir performances and direction -- Great stuff!

Under the production staff of:
H. Bruce Humberstone [Director]
Steve Fisher [novel "I Wake Up Screaming"]
Dwight Taylor [Screenplay]
Milton Sperling .[Producer]
Cyril J. Mockridge [Original Film Music]
Edward Cronjager [Cinematographer]
Robert L. Simpson [Film Editor]

BIOS:
1. H. Bruce Humberstone [Director]
Date of Birth: 18 November 1901 - Buffalo, New York
Date of Death: 11 October 1984 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Betty Grable [aka: Elizabeth Ruth Grable]
Date of Birth: 18 December 1916 - St. Louis, Missouri
Date of Death: 2 July 1973 - Santa Monica, California

3. Victor Mature [aka: Victor John Mature]
Date of Birth: 29 January 1913 - Louisville, Kentucky
Date of Death: 4 August 1999 - Rancho Santa Fe, California

the cast includes:
Betty Grable - Jill Lynn
Victor Mature - Frankie Christopher (Botticelli)
Carole Landis - Vicky Lynn
Laird Cregar - Police Insp. Ed Cornell
William Gargan - Jerry 'Mac' MacDonald
Alan Mowbray - Robin Ray
Allyn Joslyn - Larry Evans
Elisha Cook Jr. - Harry Williams
Chick Chandler - Reporter
Morris Ankrum - Assistant District Attorney

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 82 min on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox ~ (06/06/2006)

No one wakes up screaming in this feature, though it's a wonder, given the way the characters show up in each other's darkened apartments! A good deal of the action, as well as the dialogue, appears to be utterly fantastic--so it seems appropriate that Grable's presence is often accompanied by strains of "Over the Rainbow". Such incredibility does lend to the unpredictability of the plot-line, though, so the movie can be enjoyable if one doesn't think about it too deeply. It's also fun to watch Grable in a film noir--and amusing to see how a swimsuit scene is worked into the story!

A surprisingly nifty, engrossing little thriller from 1942. Mature is a promoter accused of the murder of an actress he represents; he hides out with Grable, the actress' sister, but is finally tracked down by detective Laird Cregar. A cleverly ironic twist insures watching this little gem won't be in vain! A very unusual film for musical star Grable and quite successful in it's day; the ultimately tragic Carole Landis is memorably beautiful and the film's theme is, amazingly, OVER THE RAINBOW (!). Remade in 1953 as VICKI. Carole Landis was a beautiful young blonde of Polish/Norwegian stock who first made her mark in Hollywood in 1940 playing Loana in the cultish Hal Roach production ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Different Grable
Betty Grable resisted doing dramatic roles but she is pretty good in this film. Not really very suspensful, but the plot moves along and its a great treat to see a non-singing... Read more

Published on Oct 15 2001 by barlove

5.0 out of 5 stars Betty Grable takes on the law to help clear boyfriend.
When ambitious waitress Carole Landis reaches for Hollywood fame, she is found murdered in the apartment she shares with sister Betty Grable. Read more

Published on Aug 22 1999 by Tom McGee

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