Vicki

Vicki. Jeanne Crain and Jean Peters star in this 1953 remake of the 1941 noir classic, I Wake Up Screaming. Peters plays a glamorous model whose murder has all New York buzzing. Equally beautiful Jeanne Crain plays Vicki’s grieving sister who herself comes under suspicion by an obsessed police detective, played by Richard Boone, when it appears she is falling for the prime suspect in her sister's murder. 85 minutes. CC.

This film is worth watching but it pales in comparison with the 1941 original made at the height of Hollywood's Golden age, and at the dawn of the film noir era. By 1953 with the advent of TV, this short-lived American film renaissance was coming to an end. It is a good exercise to watch Vicki first and then watch I Wakeup Screaming. In every aspect whether it be directing, cinematography, casting, acting, and musical scoring, the 1941 film is better. For example, in Vicki Richard Boone is competent as a tough police detective, but Laird Kregar's performance in the 1941 film is unforgettable. He is a hulking, threatening, obsessive, but ultimately a sympathetic character. ###

Jeanne Crain and Jean Peters