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:

Dr. Mark Hamilton: You see sometimes a thought can be like a malignant disease that starts to eat away the willpower. When that happens, it's my business to remove the thought before it can cause destruction.
Richard Mason: That's a very pretty thought, Doctor, but I don't quite see how you can take a thought out of a man's head. It seems to me if it's there, it's there and there's nothing can be done about it.

Movie Connections:

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

Excellent Noir

This is a not much known film noir directed by Kurt (Curtis) Bernhardt. Starring Humphrey Bogart as the architect Richard Mason who kills his wife because he is in love with her sister the movie switches from a straight forward crime story to a mystery when Mason gets letters from his wife though he knows she is dead. This is an clever idea but it's very easy for an experienced crime novel reader to pre-construct the movie after thirty minutes if you listen closely. This is somehow a weakness of the whole movie, nevertheless the interest is still there because of the other qualities the movie offers. The screenplay and the editing is fast paced, the dialog is sharp without any paraphrases, the acting is to the point. The plot line offers another question: Is the sister of Richard Mason's wife also in love with him as he thinks she is? Since we see the movie from his point of view it is very unclear.

"Conflict" creates a dark atmosphere and we see Mason acting like an immoral person which we also can call existencialistic. He does not question his crime, it seems it is just something that had to be done.

Nice appearance by Sidney Greenstreet as the psychologist Hamilton.