High Wall
| High Wall | |
|---|---|
 theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Curtis Bernhardt |
| Produced by | Robert Lord |
| Written by | Play and story: Alan R. Clark Bradbury Foote Screenplay: Sydney Boehm Lester Cole |
| Starring | Robert Taylor Audrey Totter Herbert Marshall |
| Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
| Cinematography | Paul Vogel |
| Editing by | Conrad A. Nervig |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | 17 December 1947 (US) |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
High Wall (1947) is a film noir, starring Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter and Herbert Marshall. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt from a screenplay by Sydney Boehm and Lester Cole, based on a play by Alan R. Clark and Bradbury Foote.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A man suffering from a recurring brain injury during the war Steven Kenet (Taylor), appears to have strangled his wife after catching her living in her boss' apartment. He blacks out while his hands are around the woman's neck. He confesses and is committed to a county asylum. At the asylum, Dr. Ann Lorrison (Totter) is initially cynical about Kenet's story and reluctance to undergo treatment.
Slowly, she begins to doubt his guilt, and endangers her career when she begins to investigate the crime which eventually leads to another suspect. When Kenet's memory is finally jogged he remembers a clue that could prove his innocence, he escapes from the asylum looking for his wife's old boss Whitcombe (Marshall). The doctor and patient meet outside his building and sneak in and question the man.
[edit] Cast
- Robert Taylor as Steven Kenet
- Audrey Totter as Dr. Ann Lorrison
- Herbert Marshall as Willard I. Whitcombe
- Dorothy Patrick as Helen Kenet
- H. B. Warner as Mr. Slocum
- Warner Anderson as Dr. George Poward
- Moroni Olsen as Dr. Philip Dunlap
- John Ridgely as Asst. District Attorney David Wallace
- Morris Ankrum as Dr. Stanley Griffin
- Elisabeth Risdon as Mrs. Kenet (Steven's mother)
- Vince Barnett as Henry Cronner
- Jonathan Hale as Emory Garrison
- Charles Arnt as Sidney X. Hackle (lawyer)
- Ray Mayer as Ray Mayer (orderly)
[edit] Reaction
Writer Spencer Selby calls High Wall "Stylish, representative of late forties noir thrillers." [1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Spencer Selby (1984). Dark City: The Film Noir. McFarland Classic. ISBN 0-7864-0478-7.
