I Wake Up Screaming. In a rare dramatic role Betty Grable plays the sister of a beautiful, murdered model in this 1941 film that some consider to be the first film noir. While police search for the murderer, Grable is falling in love with the prime suspect played by Victor Mature. The many plot twists and turns of this film leave viewers guessing right to the end. Carole Landis, Laird Cregar, and Elisha Cook Jr. round out a fine cast. 82 minutes. CC.
Bruce Humberstone directed this film based on a story by prolific crime novelist Steve Fisher. I would like to list some of the reasons why this film is among my favorite film noir.
First, Victor Mature is, I believe, the first Italian American leading man. Previously, Italians were usually portrayed as sleazy criminals. Mature creates an attractive and sympathetic character in this film.
Second, Betty Grable is surprisingly good in a serious role, as is Carole Landis as her sister.
Third, It has all the basic noir elements: skewed camera angles, flashbacks, lighting, nighttime settings, contrasts between light and dark, as well as a haunting musical score that alternates between the romantic, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and the haunting Street Scene, a melody used over and over in later film noir.
Most of all there is the great performance of Laird Cregar who plays a hulking police detective obsessed with bringing the killer to justice. I should also mention Elisha Cook Jr. who plays a creepy apartment house desk clerk.
For more information about the film, here is a link to Eddie Muller's fine intro.
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| Betty Grable and Victor Mature |
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