The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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The Dark Corner
Crime · Drama · 1946
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
Movie details
The Dark Corner
“Save your lipstick, girls, he plays for keeps.”
1946 Crime · Drama 1h 39m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Dark Corner?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Framed
Crime · 1947
Truck driver Mike Lambert is a down-and-out mining engineer searching for a job. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he happens upon a venomous seductress. When her boyfriend robs a bank, they intend to frame Lambert.
Pitfall
Drama · 1948
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Plunder Road
Crime · 1957
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
The Damned Don't Cry
Crime · 1950
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
Detective Story
Crime · 1951
Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.
Johnny O'Clock
Crime · 1947
When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.
Laura
Drama · 1944
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
Footsteps in the Fog
Thriller · 1955
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
The File on Thelma Jordon
Thriller · 1949
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.
Whirlpool
Thriller · 1950
The wife of a psychoanalyst falls prey to a devious quack hypnotist when he discovers she is an habitual shoplifter. Then one of his previous patients now being treated by the real doctor is found murdered, with her still at the scene, and suspicion points only one way.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Henry Hathaway
Written by
Bernard C. Schoenfeld · Jay Dratler · Leo Rosten
Lucille Ball
Kathleen Stewart
Clifton Webb
Hardy Cathcart
William Bendix
Fred Foss
Mark Stevens
Bradford Galt
Kurt Kreuger
Anthony Jardine
Cathy Downs
Mari Cathcart
Reed Hadley
Frank Reeves
Court is in session
Put The Dark Corner on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.