Experiment Perilous (1944)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

Warren Duff (screenplay)
Margaret Carpenter (novel)

Release Date:

18 December 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Thriller

Plot:

In 1903, a doctor suspects murder in the gothic Bederaux family.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Gothic | Stepson | Beautiful Woman | Melodrama

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Hedy Lamarr	...	Allida Bederaux
George Brent	...	Dr. Huntington Bailey
Paul Lukas	...	Nick Bederaux
Albert Dekker	...	'Clag' Claghorn
Carl Esmond	...	John Maitland
Olive Blakeney	...	Clarissa 'Cissie' Bederaux
George N. Neise	...	Alec / Gregory
Margaret Wycherly	...	Maggie, the Maid
Stephanie Bachelor	...	Elaine
Mary Servoss	...	Miss Wilson
Julia Dean	...	Deria
William Post Jr.	...	District Attorney

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Hedy Lamarr's singing voice was dubbed by Paula Raymond.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Towards the end of the film, when Dr. Bailey attacks Nick and the two briefly fight, it's very obvious that the people seen fighting are stunt doubles. Nick's stunt double doesn't even have the same hair color.

Experiment Pointless

I had only a vague notion of the plot before watching this, knowing only that the central character was a psychiatrist played by George Brent. But despite rather odd characters being wheeled on and off, despite portentous things (The opening sequence of the train besieged by lightning, storm and floods and Hedy Lammar's so-called "special look" in the portrait which itself appeared to be merely an enlarged and retouched photo yet supposedly hung in a museum as work of art) and dialogue; the production, script and cast battled as one so successfully to subdue and ultimately suppress conviction and interest that we parted company after around 20 minutes of viewing.

Having watched both versions of "Gaslight" (with which reviewers have compared this offering) I would say both are incomparably superior to it. The earlier British version (fortunately saved from deliberate destruction) offered in the form of Anton Walbrook the most odious villain accompanied by a perhaps a more realistically vulnerable and less beautiful wife than Ingrid Bergman. Both films were intriguing from the outset.

I guess that from the start I had misgivings about the casting of George Brent - an bulky actor of limited powers of expression and interpretation who was inexplicably regularly cast opposite Hollywood's very finest (eg Bette Davis). Brent is amiable and at times rather concerned but neither involving nor intriguing. Joseph Cotton for example would have suggested depths which Brent never could.

I did not find the sets convincing - like the portrait itself they indicated a deficit of artistry and style however the opening section with its (model?) train besieged by storm and floods was well done. Interesting to note that it received no awards and that its single Oscar nomination was for art direction.