Conflict (1945)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Curtis Bernhardt

Writers:

Arthur T. Horman (writer)
Alfred Neumann (story)

Release Date:

15 June 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

SUSPENSE...SUSPICION...MAN-WOMAN DESIRES! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Richard Mason is slightly injured in a car accident but pretends greater hurt so that he cannot accompany his wife Kathryn on a trip to the mountains...

Plot Keywords:

Guilt | Police | Psychiatrist | Police Detective | Psycho Thriller

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Richard Mason
Alexis Smith	...	Evelyn Turner
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Dr. Mark Hamilton
Rose Hobart	...	Kathryn Mason
Charles Drake	...	Prof. Norman Holsworth
Grant Mitchell	...	Dr. Grant
Patrick O'Moore	...	Det. Lt. Egan (as Pat O'Moore)
Ann Shoemaker	...	Nora Grant
Edwin Stanley	...	Phillips (as Ed Stanley)

Also Known As:

The Pentacle (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

86 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 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: When Richard sees his wife disappear into an empty apartment, the owner tells him that the place has "redone floors and all new wallpaper", yet every wall is plain paint.

Quotes:

Kathryn Mason: Really, Dick, you might put your things away, just look at that bed. If I've told you once, I've told you...
Richard Mason: Thousand times.
Kathryn Mason: And you insist on doing it.
Richard Mason: Listen Kathryn, I don't insist on anything. I don't know what's come over you lately. You find fault in everything I do and everything I say. What's the matter with you?
Kathryn Mason: Don't stand there and play the innocent with me. You know perfectly well what the matter is.
Richard Mason: What're you talking about?
Kathryn Mason: Your ridiculous infatuation with Evelyn. Oh you thought I didn't know, didn't you? You must think I'm blind. The way you look at her and hang on her every word is positively nauseating.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Cosby Show: Elvin Pays for Dinner (#6.13)" (1990)

Playing A Head Game

Conflict was the last film teaming of Humphrey Bogart and Sidney Greenstreet and for this one the roles were reversed. For once Mr. Greenstreet was a good guy and he set about to trap his friend Bogart who he suspects of murdering his wife.

I guess it's the psychiatric training for Greenstreet for that's what he plays in Conflict. Bogart and wife Rose Hobart are a seemingly happy couple, but in fact they've grown quite apart and Bogart fancies himself in love with Hobart's sister, Alexis Smith.

One night he and his wife are to go up to a mountain hotel resort, but work keeps him home temporarily at the last minute. Hobart drives up alone and doesn't return.

Let's just say that an elaborate trap has been set for a man that there is no direct evidence on. Let's say that Greenstreet's professional training comes in mighty handy for the games that are played.

Conflict is not in the same league as Maltese Falcon or Casablanca. Still it has a modicum of suspense and should keep the viewer interested.