The Sign of the Ram (1948)

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Charles Bennett (writer)
Margaret Ferguson (novel)

Release Date:

3 March 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Incredible evil!

Plot:

The wheelchair-bound matriarch of an English family uses her handicap to cynically manipulate all those around her...

Plot Keywords:

Handicap | Wheelchair | Based On Novel

Cast

Susan Peters	...	Leah St. Aubyn
Alexander Knox	...	Mallory St. Aubyn
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Sherida Binyon
Peggy Ann Garner	...	Christine St. Aubyn
Ron Randell	...	Dr. Simon Crowdy
Dame May Whitty	...	Clara Brastock
Allene Roberts	...	Jane St. Aubyn
Ross Ford	...	Logan St. Aubyn
Diana Douglas	...	Catherine Woolton

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This was the only movie Susan Peters made after the hunting accident which paralyzed her from the waist down. (She had been paralyzed after being hit by a ricochet after an accidental discharge of her rifle.)

Nice Cast Which Includes The Return Of Peters, But Story Is Nothing Special

Other than marking the brief return of actress Susan Peters to the screen, there's nothing much noteworthy about this film. It's pretty bland. I can see why audiences back in 1948 were not receptive to this film. It simply has a big "case of the blahs." Too bad, because it has a good cast, leading with Peters who was making a comeback after a horrendous accident three years earlier left her paralyzed from the waist down. If you want to read a sad biography, check out the one here on IMDb Peters and the tragic ending to her brief life.

Anyway, her character in this movie, was the wheelchair-bound "Leah St. Aubyn." Leah appears bright and optimistic despite her physical state but obviously, underneath, is the opposite and winds up a manipulative, selfish person who uses a teen girl to attempt a crime. Nothing against Miss Peters but I couldn't help think that someone more dynamic (i.e. Bette Davis) would have brought a much bigger edge to this story, an edge the film badly needed.

The young manipulated teen was "Christine," played by Peggy Ann Garner of "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" fame. Three or four years past the filming of ATGIB, Peggy Ann is no longer the little girl having grown up and filled out, but her role in here is that of an emotionally immature youngster whose whole world is in the house where this story takes place.

As a fan of Peggy's I was glad to see she had a fairly big role in this movie. She didn't have many opportunities after this movie, for various reasons none of which involved her fine acting talents.

I was also pleased to see Phyllis Thaxter in this film. She plays "Sherida," the hired secretary. Phyllis boasted a wholesomely-beautiful face, one of the better and underrated one of the 1940s glamor decade. Like the aforementioned women, she was never a star as an adult.

I particularly mention the women in this film because it's a woman's movie, a melodrama pure-and-simple. The men in the movie - Alexander Knox, Ron Randell, Ross Ford and a few others - are okay but nothing special.

That pretty much sums up this chick flick; nothing special. The film takes place in England and the actors didn't even bother to fake a British accent!