The Dark Corner (1946)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

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

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 | Infidelity | Art Gallery

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Colleen Alpaugh	...	Little Girl with Slide Whistle (uncredited)
Charles Cane	...	Policeman at Tony's Apartment (uncredited)
Ellen Corby	...	Maid (uncredited)
Peter Cusanelli	...	Man (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Policeman in Galleries (uncredited)
John Elliott	...	Laundry Proprietor (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Movie Theater Cashier (uncredited)
Alice Fleming	...	Woman (uncredited)
John Goldsworthy	...	Butler (uncredited)
Eugene Goncz	...	Practical Sign Painter (uncredited)
Vincent Graeff	...	Newsboy-Witness (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Man at Hit-Run Attempt (uncredited)
Eloise Hardt	...	Miss Dennis, Saleswoman (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
John Kelly	...	Policeman in Galleries (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Molly Lamont	...	Lucy Wilding (uncredited)
Hope Landin	...	Woman Scrubbing Floor (uncredited)
Thomas Louden	...	Elderly Man (uncredited)
Donald MacBride	...	Policeman in Galleries (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	First Cab Driver (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Henry, the Majordomo (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Milkman (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Tom Monroe	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Mr. Bryson (uncredited)
Steve Olsen	...	Arcade Game Barker (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Policeman on Street (uncredited)
Joe Ploski	...	Deli Extra (uncredited)
Raisa	...	Client Daughter (uncredited)
Isabel Randolph	...	Mrs. Reynolds (uncredited)
John Russell	...	Policeman at Tony's Apartment (uncredited)
Pietro Sosso	...	Man (uncredited)
Douglas Spencer	...	Deli Extra (uncredited)
Frieda Stoll	...	Frau Keller (uncredited)
Charles Tannen	...	Second Cab Driver (uncredited)
Minerva Urecal	...	Client Wife (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim	...	The Real Fred Foss (uncredited)
Regina Wallace	...	Mrs. Bryson (uncredited)
Gisela Werbisek	...	Mrs. Schwartz (uncredited)
Lynn Whitney	...	Stenographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Hathaway

Writing credits
Jay Dratler		(screenplay) and
Bernard C. Schoenfeld		(screenplay) (as Bernard Schoenfeld)
Leo Rosten		(story)

Produced by
Fred Kohlmar	....	producer

Original Music by
Cyril J. Mockridge		(as Cyril Mockridge)

Cinematography by
Joseph MacDonald		(as Joe MacDonald)

Film Editing by
J. Watson Webb Jr.		(as J. Watson Webb)

Art Direction by
James Basevi
Leland Fuller

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Kay Nelson

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Eckhardt	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Paul S. Fox	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestral arranger
Emil Newman	....	musical director

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

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:

When Kathleen is unsuccessful at following a suspicious character for her boss, she tells him he should have William Powell as a secretary instead. Powell played the detective in the "Thin Man" movie series.

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:

Kathleen: You should have William Powell for a secretary.
Bradford Galt: William Powell... who's he?
Kathleen: Don't ya ever go to the movies? He's a detective, in "The Thin Man."

Movie Connections:

References The Thin Man (1934)

Soundtrack:

Give Me the Simple Life

Framed! And it's NOT for a new house!

Sometimes it seems like it's impossible to avoid being framed for murder. I think we've all had that experience, haven't we? That certainly is Bradford Galt's (Mark Stevens) problem in "The Dark Corner." I should say, it is ONE of his problems. That, along with being constantly annoyed by the cops and assorted bad guys. It's just one of the hazards that come with being a private eye. If you don't believe that, just ask Humphrey Bogart. Among others!

But there can be benefits, too. And in this case, one of the benefits is having the beautiful Kathleen (Lucille Ball) for your ... uh ... private secretary. Furthermore, it can be doubly beneficial when you and your "private secretary" become romantically involved. This role -- Kathleen -- is, I think, one of Lucy's very best from her lengthy pre-"I Love Lucy" movie career. She's beautiful (oh, I said that), she's charming, she's bright (quite un-Lucylike) and, perhaps most important for a private snoop, she helps her man Brad extricate himself from more than one tight spot. And, she's beautiful!

As for those aforementioned annoying bad guys, we have William Bendix and Clifton Webb on hand to annoy His Snoopness. The former THINKS he's a lot tougher than he really is. Better had he known that a tough guy gets much further being the other way around. As for the latter, he, apparently, didn't learn his lesson in "Laura" two years earlier. Too bad. For him.

One of the mildly amusing aspects to this film is Brad's use, perhaps as many as half a dozen times, of the word "shagged." Thanks to "Austin Powers," we now have a new 21st century meaning for that word. But in 1946, in THIS movie, it meant something completely different. And neither meaning has anything to do with rugs. Ahhh, language.

I also find it interesting that the star of this movie (Mark Stevens) took fourth billing. True, although he was both a known and a competent actor, he was never a star of the magnitude of, say, the aforementioned H.B. Which makes me wonder if Henry Hathaway (the director) and Fred Kohlmar (the producer) had a big-name star in mind for the main role but were unable to land same. Thus, did they have to "settle for" Stevens? It would be interesting to learn the background of the casting of this movie and how Stevens came to get the main role and why he was given just fourth billing.

Even so, "The Dark Corner," WITH Mark Stevens, is still one of the better film noirs of the 1940s. And watch out the next time somebody tries to frame you for murder. Maybe it won't be a movie!