Phantom Lady (1944 movie)
Universal Pictures' Phantom Lady (1944) is a black and white film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. The film was based on a Cornell Woolrich (writing under pen name William Irish) novel. In what may be the film's most famous sequence, rhythmic intercutting between Elisha Cook Jr.'s frantic drumming at a seedy night club and the leering responses of sexy secretary Ella Raines symbolizes a heated sexual encounter without actually showing a sex act on the screen.
Plot
After a fight with his wife, Scott Henderson, a handsome and successful 32-year-old civil engineer, picks up a mysterious woman in a bar and they go out. The woman refuses to exchange names, becoming the phantom lady of the film. When Henderson returns home, he finds cops waiting to question him because his wife has been murdered with his necktie. Henderson and the cops try to find the phantom lady who can provide him with an alibi but fail. It's up to Carol, Henderson's loyal and secretary with a secret to trace the phantom and set Henderson free.
Cast
- Franchot Tone as Jack Marlow
- Ella Raines as Carol 'Kansas' Richman
- Alan Curtis as Scott Henderson
- Aurora Miranda as Estela Monteiro (as Aurora)
- Thomas Gomez as Inspector Burgess
- Fay Helm as Ann Terry
- Elisha Cook Jr. as Cliff Milburn
- Andrew Tombes as Mac, the Bartender
- Regis Toomey as Detective Chewing Gum
- Joseph Crehan as Tom
- Virginia Brissac as Dr. Ellen Chase
- Milburn Stone as Voice of District Attorney (voice)
External Links
Categories: Films noir | 1944 films