Trials and tribulations of a henpecked husband
Robert Siodmak had a significant career in Europe before coming to Hollywood in the early 1940s. The darker themes of his work make the stylish director stand out from others. He signed with Universal in 1943 where he was allowed to be creative and where his background in German expressionism influenced his output.
At first Siodmak directed some B horror entries, then he was handed important A-picture assignments. PHANTOM LADY was his first noir at Universal. It was a murder mystery which featured Ella Raines. Siodmak would direct Raines several more times, mostly notably in THE SUSPECT alongside Charles Laughton.
Laughton was a close friend of the director’s, and under Siodmak, he gives a carefully understated yet poignant performance. He portrays a henpecked husband driven to murder his overbearing wife (Rosalind Ivan). Miss Raines plays a sweet young woman that Laughton befriends. She becomes a very necessary diversion, as well as a catalyst when Laughton decides to break free from his unhappy marriage.
The film is set in early 20th century London, and the period touches are expertly handled. Everything from costumes and hairstyles to set design seem authentic. The performances convey an understanding of how people acted at the time. The wife manipulates the local gossips to subject her husband to humiliation so he won’t stray.
Henry Daniell plays a blackmailer. He figures out Laughton got rid of the nasty old battle axe, but silence comes at a price. Laughton tries to keep Daniell quiet, but the greedy parasite wants more money, and Laughton has no wish to keep paying him.
So Laughton kills again, and there’s a truly suspenseful scene when he doesn’t have enough time to dispose of Daniell’s body. Laughton hides it behind a sofa just as his son and the son’s girlfriend arrive home. While they are chatting, the girlfriend feels something under the sofa and puts her hand down there. It turns out a cat is playing with the dead body. But until she pulls the cat out from under the piece of furniture, we are led to believe, as Laughton does, that his crime is about to be discovered. It’s straight out of Edgar Allen Poe.
Laughton’s reactions are outstanding. The camera work keeps us unnerved and in as much suspense as possible. Of course our sympathetic antagonist will be found out before the end of the story. In the last sequence Laughton has married Raines, and they are going to Canada to start a new life. But the police have been nipping at Laughton’s heels.
There is a nice cat-and-mouse moment between Laughton and an investigator just as the ship is about to sail. There is no such thing as a perfect crime, but there is such a thing as a perfectly directed performance. I suspect that anyone who watches the film will find it just as enjoyable as an episode of Columbo.
Of or Involving Motion Pictures 