Phantom Lady (1944)

[cigar joe]

The Phantom Lady (1944) Director Robert Siodmak, based on a Cornell Woolrich (writing as William Irish novel) with Franchot Tone as Jack Marlow, Ella Raines as Carol Richman, Alan Curtis as Scott Henderson, Aurora Miranda as Estela Monteiro, Thomas Gomez as Inspector Burgess, Fay Helm as Ann Terry, Elisha Cook Jr. as Cliff, and Regis Toomey as Detective Chewing Gum.

A sort of a flimsy implausible story on this one that started out very good then disintegrates, but it has some interesting sequences that I liked a lot.

An unhappily married Scott Henderson waiting to attend a show is stood up by his wife at a bar. Frustrated, he notices that a hat-wearing woman seated also at the bar looks lost and in distress. He makes some small talk with her and first offers her the show tickets to try and cheer her up, but one thing leads to another and he ends up spending the evening on a no-name basis with her.

Henderson with The Phantom Lady



Returning home, he finds his wife strangled and the police waiting and he becomes the prime suspect in her murder. Every effort to prove his alibi fails; oddly no one seems to remember seeing the phantom lady (or her hat). Scott is convicted and sent to Sing Sing. His secretary, "Kansas," (Raines) sets out to locate the "phantom" lady.

An interesting mix of unlikely characters with probably husky Thomas Gomez as the Inspector being the most surprising. This film looks entirely shot in the studio with nicely detailed sets, one that represents one of the old New York City El's is magnificent. There is one series of sequences where Raines, dressed up as a two bit floozy, seduces orchestra drummer Elisha Cook Jr. to get information, and they head off to a wild jazz band rehearsal in a tenement basement before they end up in Cook's crash pad.

Siodmak's New York City El set/matte painting screen caps


Station on 2nd Avenue El maybe?


El platform


Kansas in hooker mode



Cliff (Elisha Cook Jr.) notices Kansas



<Spoilers>

Ella Raines is great in this, and I like the way you don't know at first who the main protagonists are going to be, but in order for everything to make sense you're asked to swallow that Marlow killed the wife suddenly on impulse then spied on Henderson's every move with enough cash in his pocket to pay off everybody Henderson came in contact with, then hangs around making sure that nobody spills the beans, then after killing Cliff removes all evidence of "Kansas" being there in Cliff's apartment and then keeps that evidence in a draw in his studio. come on.....

All in all, the jazz, the characters, and the sets are great, the story so so. 7/10

[Steve-O]

From my NOTW article a few years back:

1944 was a hell of a year for film noir. Really a turning point. The year saw the releases of Laura, Double Indemnity and Murder, My Sweet. The trio would go on to influence the entire body of film noir to come.

One film from that year is unfortunately forgotten today by most is the amazing Phantom Lady directed by Robert Siodmak. Filled with plot holes and unlikely occurrences, the Phantom Lady succeeds because of Siodmak's knack for being able to create a creepy and gloomy nightmare-like atmosphere. Siodmak was just a few years into his Hollywood movie making and in 1944 he had three dark films released that year – Phantom Lady, the period-noir The Suspect and a suspense film with the incredibly misleading title of Christmas Holiday. During the 40s, Siodmak would go on to refine his skills at horror and suspense when he helmed the director's chair for Criss Cross, Cry of the City and the gothic Spiral Staircase.

Siodmak takes Cornell Woolrich's novel (written as William Irish) and strips it of some of it's nerve-racking suspense. Instead he paints a picture of a night time world that is very different from the day – a dangerous place to venture out into alone.

The story by Woolrich – who constantly reminds us life is absurd and meaningless – appears to be about unhappily married Scott Henderson. Henderson (Alan Curtis) heads off to a bar after an argument with his wife on their wedding anniversary. While nursing a drink he starts up chatting it up with a woman who would later be known as the “phantom lady”. Eventually, Henderson convinces the nameless woman to use his wife's ticket for a musical review. The two head off in a cab to the show. At the show, the two notice that Henderson's date has the same outrageous hat as the lead singer. Neither of the woman are happy that their exclusive hat is being worn by someone else. The two split after the show and Henderson heads home.

Meanwhile back at Henderson's apartment his wife has been found brutally murdered. When he returns he finds coppers in his living room and is informed bluntly about his wife's death. Suspecting the husband – who has a motive and no alibi – the police question him like he's the number one suspect. Henderson can't prove his innocence and is quickly locked up.

The story now shifts to “Kansas” - played nicely by Ella Raines. With her boss behind bars, the plucky secretary must play detective and find out who really killed Henderson's wife. Things don't go easily for her. Every one that saw her boss the night of the killing now have clammed up. Worst of all, the “phantom lady” cannot be found.

Kansas haunts the bar that Henderson spent the night in – eventually spooking out the bartender. Later the nervous man is killed in an accident. That leaves Kansas to begin investigating the two others that should remember him from the night: the cab driver and the Latin American singer who noticed the woman was wearing the same hat as hers.

With only the help of a police detective (Thomas Gomez) Kansas' investigation finally leads to a promising witness. Elisha Cook Jr. plays the drummer in the show. He has an eye for the ladies and he remembers every inch of the “phantom lady” when she went to the show with Henderson. Kansas puts on an act and easily convinces drummer Cliff to take her out after the show in an attempt to get any information out of him.

These few scenes are amazing. Raines is so self confidant playing the tramp groupie and Cook is wonderfully creepy. Late that night they end up in a scary, apparently drug infested, after-hours jazz club. You can almost smell the sweat and booze when they enter the place. Cliff puts on a show.

Kansas continues to play hot-to-trot for Cliff when she's clearly repulsed by him. Things do not go when when they get to the drummers little room. He makes the moves on Kansas – who must still pretend to be interested – while at the same time spilling the beans. He admits that he was paid to forget Henderson and the phantom lady. Cliff finds out Kansas is working for the police and she barely escapes with her life. Once in saftey, Kansas realizes she has finally gotten the first piece of evidence that there is a conspiracy against Henderson.

There's more to the story following but to tell it would give away the end – even though it's not that hard to figure out “who-done-it”.

If you're looking for the movie finding it on DVD may be a challenge but it does air occasionally on Turner Classic Movies. The film's not available on a Region 1 DVD but there is a decent French DVD release out there.

The Phantom Lady may not have the notoriety of other 1944 noirs but most noir film buffs know that this is one of the best.

[Johnny O'Clock]

That orgiastic Jazz scene is classic!

[cigar joe]

One original visual quibble I had was that the New York Skyline didn't have many lights, but in 1944 with WWII raging that was reality. Military Blackouts were imposed for both defense and electricity rationed for the war effort.

Check out Blackout (WWII and the origins of Film Noir) by Sheri Chinen Biesen, very informative.

[MartinTeller]

I was slightly less bowled over than most noir fans, but I definitely want to see it again

[review from April 24, 2011]

When a man's wife is murdered, the woman who can provide his alibi seems to vanish. There are some stunning sequences in this film, Elwood Bredell's cinematography once again complements Siodmak's style extremely well. The scenes of Ella Raines stalking Andrew Tombes and seducing Elisha Cook, Jr. (the latter including what might be the only instance of a drum solo representing premature ejaculation) are textbook examples of noir photography. Not every scene is a knockout, but there's some marvelous framing and lighting throughout. And Raines is wonderful, supported by some great characters and faces. However, the plot has some pretty sizable holes, and the psychology is overcooked. Not a great noir, but a fun one with great moments. Rating: 8

[Adam Lounsbery]

Those shots of the elevated trains are amazing.

You can still find stations that look like that in the outer boroughs, especially the Bronx. But in Manhattan nowadays, not so much.

[cigar joe]

However, the plot has some pretty sizable holes, and the psychology is overcooked. Not a great noir, but a fun one with great moments. Rating: 8

<spoilers>

No kidding, I like the way you don't know at first who the main protagonists are going to be, but in order for everything to make sense you're asked to swallow that Marlow killed the wife suddenly on impulse then spied on Henderson's every move with enough cash in his pocket to pay off every body Henderson came in contact with, then hangs around making sure that nobody spills the beans, then after killing Cliff removes all evidence of "Kansas" being there in Cliff's apartment and then keeps that evidence in a draw in his studio. come on.....

[JohnChard]

Phantom Lady (1944)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036260/

Paranoiacs, all of them!

Phantom Lady is directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted to screenplay by Bernard C. Schoenfeld from the story written by Cornell Woolrich (pseudonym William Irish). It stars Ella Raines, Franchot Tone, Alan Curtis, Thomas Gomez, Elisha Cook Jr and Fay Helm. Music is by Hans J. Salter and cinematography by Woody Bredell.

Out drowning his sorrows, Scott Henderson (Curtis) meets an equally unhappy woman in a bar, agreeing to her request to not exchange names, but to merely enjoy each others company, Henderson takes her to a show. Upon returning home Henderson finds his wife has been strangled and he is arrested as the prime suspect for the murder. When he frantically tries to prove he has an alibi by way of the "phanton lady" he spent the evening with, he comes up against a wall of silence with nobody able to prove he was with anybody. The electric chair awaits unless someone can prove his alibi. Enter Henderson's intrepid secretary Kansas Richman, who not only carries a torch for her boss, but appears to be his only hope of proving his innocence...

An important film in the film noir cycle given that its success kicked opened further the American doorway for German director Robert Siodmak (The Killers); something that all fellow film noir fans are eternally grateful for. Often cited as a top draw noir or one of the best from the early 40s output, it's a frustrating experience in many ways. Undeniably the middle third is an absolute visual treasure, where Siodmak and Bredell (also The Killers) craft the essential film noir style with highly detailed shadows and lighting gaining maximum atmospheric impact. An extended sequence that sees the wonderful Raines (Impact) stalk a witness through dark and dank streets to a subway station is clinical in its photographic brilliance. I love the quote from Bredell where he said that after being coached by Siodmak he felt he could light a football pitch with only a match! This middle third of Phantom Lady is the meeting of two visual minds and it's a class combination.

Elsewhere Siodmak emphasises objects and weird art to keep his world off kilter, while a key character's obsession with his hands also keeps things simmering in the realm of the strange. There's also a "famed" suggestive sex scene as Elisha Cook Jr (as always, memorable) pounds his drum kit to a climax as Raines positively smoulders in front of him. All of these things are set to the backdrop of a ticking clock format, where the innocent Henderson's life hangs in the balance. These are all film noir traits and executed with such skill it hides the fact that the film is primarily studio bound, in fact this can be seen as a marker for how to do "studio noir" effectively.

Unfortunately there is good reason why Phantom Lady is divisive in film noir circles. The dialogue is often plain daft, almost as daft as the plot itself. The murderer is revealed at the mid point and therefore we are robbed of the mystery element and sadly it sign posts the finale as being obvious and disappointing. Plot in the final third puts our heroine in constant danger at the hands of the real murderer, suspense is meant to be wrung out, but it never hits home the way it should. While on the acting front Curtis is too stiff to really make a telling innocent man hanging by a thread character and Tone is equally as flat in a critical role. However, do these things stop Phantom Lady from being a great film? No, I don't think so, there's just too much good in the mix to stop it from deserving some of the (admittedly exaggerated) praise put its way. 7.5/10