First thing to bear in mind is:avoid at all cost the two remakes:the French one,made by Robin Davis ("J'ai Epousé Une Ombre" ) and Richard Benjamin's Irish-heroine-turned -My-fair-lady "Mrs Winterbourne" which hits rock bottom.
Mitchell Leisen's version is the only one which renders William Irish 's(aka Cornell Woolrich aka George Hopley)bleak desperate atmosphere.Hear the words at the beginning;they are those of the writer ,this voice which endlessly repeats "not for us" "not for us" .The same words return at the end of the novel.But it was perhaps too harsh for the audience ,and the script writers substituted a happy end for Irish's tragedy (most of his novels do not take the easy way out).Anyway this ending makes sense for the culprit tells so to the heart breaker in one of the first scenes.
Apart from the conclusion,the film is faithful to the novel.Helen /Patrice (Barbara Stanwick) is not an impostor ,she is a victim from the very start .The actress makes us feel her guilt ,not only with voice over but also with her tense looks .The scene of the fountain pen in the gift shop is a classic one and is included in the other versions.
Like this?try these
"Phantom lady" (Robert Siodmak,1944)
"obsession "(Jean Delannoy,1954,from Irish's short story "no moon,no stars")
"La Sirène Du Mississipi" (François Truffaut,1968, from Irish's novel "Waltz into darkness" )
And ,shall I have to mention it?
"Rear Window" (Hitchcock,1954,from Irish's eponymous short story)
Mitchell Leisen's version is the only one which renders William Irish 's(aka Cornell Woolrich aka George Hopley)bleak desperate atmosphere.Hear the words at the beginning;they are those of the writer ,this voice which endlessly repeats "not for us" "not for us" .The same words return at the end of the novel.But it was perhaps too harsh for the audience ,and the script writers substituted a happy end for Irish's tragedy (most of his novels do not take the easy way out).Anyway this ending makes sense for the culprit tells so to the heart breaker in one of the first scenes.
Apart from the conclusion,the film is faithful to the novel.Helen /Patrice (Barbara Stanwick) is not an impostor ,she is a victim from the very start .The actress makes us feel her guilt ,not only with voice over but also with her tense looks .The scene of the fountain pen in the gift shop is a classic one and is included in the other versions.
Like this?try these
"Phantom lady" (Robert Siodmak,1944)
"obsession "(Jean Delannoy,1954,from Irish's short story "no moon,no stars")
"La Sirène Du Mississipi" (François Truffaut,1968, from Irish's novel "Waltz into darkness" )
And ,shall I have to mention it?
"Rear Window" (Hitchcock,1954,from Irish's eponymous short story)