Phantom Lady (1944)

January 13, 2025 9:16 AM

[TRAILER] Scott Henderson's (Alan Curtis) innocuous evening with a strange woman becomes crucial when he is later accused of murdering his wife on the same evening. When Scott's story is disbelieved and a trial fails to bring forth the phantom lady, Scott's devoted secretary Carol (Ella Raines), begins her own investigation with the aid of police inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez).

Also starring Franchot Tone, Aurora Miranda, Fay Helm, Elisha Cook Jr.

Directed by Robert Siodmak. Screenplay by Bernard C. Schoenfeld. Based on the novel by Cornell Woolrich. Produced by Joan Harrison for Universal Pictures. Cinematography by Woody Bredell. Edited by Arthur Hilton. Music by Hans J. Salter.

90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

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posted by DirtyOldTown (1 comment total)

This plot is silly gibberish, hinging on a man who committed the murder knowing the exact whereabouts and interactions of his patsy, who was miles away, and bribing exactly the right people to cover his tracks.

I mean, couldn't the cop have found out who was sitting behind our guy and the phantom lady at the show? I guarantee whoever was sitting behind that bigass hat 100% remembers her.

Also, Kansas/Carol is a sort of a 1940's trope of The Girl. Not a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, more like a Devoted Female Subordinate/Wife in Waiting. (See also Cat People for this trope.)

It's all well and good though because Raines is charming, Curtis is compelling, the sequence with Carol pretending to be horny for Elisha Cook Jr's jazz drumming is wild and fascinating, it moves at a quick clip, and the cinematography is pretty great.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:22 AM on January 13