"Guest in the House" belongs to that period in which Hollywood discovered Freud and produced such films as "Spellbound" and "Shadow of a Doubt." But unlike those films, here the Freud is watered down to grade-school level, beginning with another unprofessional shrink who falls in love with the patient.
"Guest in the House" also belongs to the evil-woman sub-genre of Film Noir. As the titular heroine, Anne Baxter's Evelyn is cousin to Merle Oberon in "Temptation," Joan Fontaine in "Ivy," Ann Todd in "Madeleine," and Susan Peters in "The Sign of the Ram." There's one major difference: while the others gave restrained performances, Baxter wildly overacted. One hesitates to blame Baxter since she more than demonstrated her abilities in such films as "The Magnificent Ambersons," "The Razor's Edge," and "All About Eve," but here she is way over the top. The fault must lie with the director or directors who seem to have given her no help at all, but then, the film had a troubled production history, with at least three directors and as many screenwriters having a hand in it.
Also in the cast are Ralph Bellamy, Ruth Warrick, Margaret Hamilton, Percy Kilbride, and Marie "The Body" McDonald; the latter would have done better to spend her money on acting lessons rather than self-promotion Perhaps the real problem is that the film is studio or stage bound. Since "Guest in the House" is based on a play, one might expect it to have been opened out when it made the transition to film, but except for a few very brief outdoor scenes, the film is all interiors. Evelyn's comeuppance, for instance, is revealed only in a reaction shot by Aline MacMahon. Still, if you remember the film from childhood or the airing a decade or so ago on the Nostalgia Channel, you'll probably stick with it to the end despite the full-plate of ham.
"Guest in the House" also belongs to the evil-woman sub-genre of Film Noir. As the titular heroine, Anne Baxter's Evelyn is cousin to Merle Oberon in "Temptation," Joan Fontaine in "Ivy," Ann Todd in "Madeleine," and Susan Peters in "The Sign of the Ram." There's one major difference: while the others gave restrained performances, Baxter wildly overacted. One hesitates to blame Baxter since she more than demonstrated her abilities in such films as "The Magnificent Ambersons," "The Razor's Edge," and "All About Eve," but here she is way over the top. The fault must lie with the director or directors who seem to have given her no help at all, but then, the film had a troubled production history, with at least three directors and as many screenwriters having a hand in it.
Also in the cast are Ralph Bellamy, Ruth Warrick, Margaret Hamilton, Percy Kilbride, and Marie "The Body" McDonald; the latter would have done better to spend her money on acting lessons rather than self-promotion Perhaps the real problem is that the film is studio or stage bound. Since "Guest in the House" is based on a play, one might expect it to have been opened out when it made the transition to film, but except for a few very brief outdoor scenes, the film is all interiors. Evelyn's comeuppance, for instance, is revealed only in a reaction shot by Aline MacMahon. Still, if you remember the film from childhood or the airing a decade or so ago on the Nostalgia Channel, you'll probably stick with it to the end despite the full-plate of ham.