The Dark Corner (1946)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Jay Dratler (screenplay) and
Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 April 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

Save your lipstick, girls, he plays for keeps.

Plot:

Secretary tries to help her boss, who is framed for a murder.

Plot Keywords:

Secretary | White Suit | Murder | Reference To Whistler's Mother | Adultery

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Lucille Ball	...	Kathleen Stewart
Clifton Webb	...	Hardy Cathcart
William Bendix	...	Stauffer, alias Fred Foss
Mark Stevens	...	Bradford Galt
Kurt Kreuger	...	Anthony Jardine
Cathy Downs	...	Mari Cathcart
Reed Hadley	...	Lt Frank Reeves
Constance Collier	...	Mrs. Kingsley
Eddie Heywood	...	Himself (as Eddie Heywood and His Orchestra)

Runtime:

99 min | 95 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:Approved (certificate #11435)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

This film with many acclaimed actors could be considered a Who's Who of 1950's TV. Included are Lucille Ball ("I Love Lucy" (1951) ), William Bendix ( "The Life of Riley" (1953) ), _Reed Hadley_ ("Racket Squad" (1950) and "The Public Defender" (1954) ), Mark Stevens ("Big Town" (1950) ) and Cathy Downs (Ann Howe of "The Joe Palooka Story" (1954) ).

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in film where Kathleen is seen looking out of the back window of the taxi, she is clearly wearing a ring on her left hand. In all other scenes, like when dancing at the nightclub with Bradford, she is not wearing any ring on the left hand. However, throughout the film, she consistently is wearing a ring on her right hand little finger.

Quotes:

Hardy Cathcart: Take, uh, Tony for instance. I'd never imagine him to be interested in... Lucy Wilding, but he is.
Mari Cathcart: It's not true! He's always loathed her.
Hardy Cathcart: He loathed her rather intimately, I'm afraid.

Movie Connections:

References The Thin Man (1934)

Soundtrack:

Give Me the Simple Life

Great little-known film-noir

Watched this on American Movie Classics the other day ... what a great surprise. Witty dialogue with lots of clever innuendo, murky (but not annoyingly so) plot, and stark, moody lighting set the scene for the "typical" noir scenario in which the smart-cookie secretary (Lucille Ball) saves the private eye's hide. The costumes are also wonderful -- 1940s glamour all the way, from Lucy's tailored suits to the rich wife's evening gowns and nightie (gasp!).