Rating: 
Summary: GOOD CRAWFORD NOIR.....
Review: Probably the best of Crawford's 50's vehicles, "Fear" is a very good noir thriller on it's own terms. Director David Miller reportedly fought Crawford to get a realistic performance out of her instead of her just waltzing through the film on star power which was how she usually operated. It's still a Crawford performance but it works. A playwrite/heiress marries an actor she recently fired from one of her plays (Jack Palance). He has a trampy girlfriend on the side (Gloria Grahame) who plots with him to dispose of Myra, the playwrite, and when she finds out--after much terror-emoting---she plots to trip them up. Tension is nicely built up and the performances by all are first-rate. The noir b&w photography is great and on-location shooting in San Francisco gives it a gritty feel. DVD is fine thanks to Kino/Image providing a good, once obscure movie that had nominations for Oscars for Crawford(!) and Palance. At the time, early 50's on, it was said that Crawford was better when she was "menaced in mink". This film is a fine example of that remark. If you're a fan of Crawford, Palance or Grahame don't pass this one up.
Rating:
Summary: "I was just wondering what I'd done to deserve you."
Review: Successful, wealthy playwright Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) sacks actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) from rehearsals for her latest Broadway play. Myra just doesn't see Lester as the great romantic lead she's looking for, but on a train bound for San Francisco, Lester 'coincidentally' meets Myra and shows her just how romantic he can be ...Myra is a great character. She's so used to writing scripts that she mentally writes one for her life as a newlywed. Even though Myra's close associates regard free-loading Lance with suspicion, Myra only sees what she wants to see. She scripts herself as blissfully married to the most wonderful man on the planet, and that's how it plays out. But then Lester's girlfriend, the slightly sleazy, Irene Neves (Gloria Grahame) pops up in San Francisco, and Myra finds out the hard way that Lester is more interested in money than anything else. Myra handles the truth by writing another script in her mind, but carrying her plans out to their inevitable conclusion is a lot tougher in real life. Joan Crawford is spectacular in the role of Myra. She seems to visibly age as events take their toll. Several scenes focus on her wild-eyed neurotic stares, and she manages to have a few hysterical scenes into the bargain. Gloria Grahame is my favourite B film noir actress, so it was a treat for me to see her teamed with Crawford. And Jack Palance as Lester is impressive--there are scenes in which he's so good, it's possible to read his mind and gauge how he wants to murder Myra. Director, David Miller's style is evident, and quite reminiscent of "Midnight Lace" (another husband and wife drama). The 50s San Francisco scenes are phenomenal and accentuate the plot (you'll see why). The DVD transfer leaves a lot to be desired--the picture is grainy and dark, but at least it's on DVD and in print. Joan Crawford fans, seek out this film, and prepare for an evening of suspenseful entertainment--displacedhuman.
Rating:
Summary: Great 50's film noir
Review: This flawless piece of 1950's film noir is only undone by how badly it has been transposed onto DVD. Such a treasure should have been fully restored and digitally transferred yet it seems to have been hurriedly recorded directly from the grainy VHS original and the result is a fine film that just doesn't look right.
That said if you're a lover of great film noir, a fan of Joan Crawford or simply nostalgia itself don't miss the chance to see and own this gem of a movie. You'd never have thought Joan could perform this well being more of 'star' than an 'actress'. Joan was one hard-working and dedicated performer who never 'slummed it' as she used to put it. Forget about all that Mommie Dearest drivel and enjoy the greatest female star of all time's finest hour!
Rating:
Summary: Fear with a Twist and then Some
Review: This is a first-class thriller based on the novel by Edna Sherry of an affluent playwright who discovers her new husband is planning to kill her. You see, she done him wrong at an earlier date. Now it's retribution time. But who is outdoing whom? Twists abound. Joan Crawford (Oscar nominated) and Jack Palance (his first Oscar nomination) are excellent. The cast also includes Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett, Virginia Huston and Touch (Mike) Connors. The effective Black and White cinematography is by Charles Lang (also Oscar nominated). This film also boasts one of Elmer Bernstein's earliest scores. Bernstein has been a leading writer of film scores since the mid-1950s, when his work on THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955) and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) elevated him into the front rank of Hollywood composers. His score for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) made him immortal and launched him into a string of successful Western scores through that decade. However, he highly has been noted for his strong use of solo instruments and his facility with the jazz idiom. 1999's WILD, WILD WEST returned him to his beloved Western.
Rating: 
Summary: Forget Crawford, watch Palance and Graham!
Review: This is a tight little noir with a clever plot. Crawford almost literally chews up the furniture, flopping against doors and bannisters for most of the second half of the movie. She gives the movie a pleasant campy flavor, but I'm not a big fan of her histrionics. The real reason to watch this movie is to be thrilled by the spectacle of the white hot young Jack Palance. His onscreen "romance" with Gloria Graham is about as good of a depiction of unsavory lust as I have ever seen. An example: the couple meet and argue. Palance's character throws Graham onto her sofa and starts to stomp out of the room. Graham purrs after him something to the effect of 'I'm glad to know that you still love me', which stops Palance in his tracks. He turns and walks towards her, all akimbo on the sofa, and the scene fades. Yow!
I give this four stars instead of five because the scene with Palance's character gone mad in the car at the end of the movie is kind of jarringly out of place, and because I can take only so much of Joan Crawford flopping on the doors.
Rating:
Summary: Joan Crawford + Melodrama = Fantastic!
Review: This is another performance that shows Miss Crawford was truly a STAR! Playing Myra Hudson, a San Francisco socialite and playwright, Crawford gets to show a whole range of emotions that garnered her another well deserved Oscar nomination. Jack Palance and Gloria Grahame co-star and also give outstanding performances. Add Sudden Fear to your collection...you won't be disappointed! This is one you can watch over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Joan At Her Best ..... Plus A Whopper Of An Ending!!
Review: This is definitely one to add to the collection! Joan Crawford gives a dynamite performance here. And the great ending caught me completely off guard! Very neat twist! Now available on DVD too.
Rating:
Summary: Nail biting film noir!
Review: This movie is excellent for the film noir genre. It is tension filled from the very start. Jack Palance is superb as the malevolent husband. Filmed in stark black and white (including the costumes of the leading ladies) the air fairly crackles with excitement. As the film builds to its shattering conclusion the audience is left breathless and absolutely riveted to the screen. A must have for any Joan Crawford fan or fan of the film noir genre. An excellent movie.
Rating:
Summary: SUPERLATIVE!
Review: This one will have you packed in you seat until the end!! the build up is very accurate, showing all the plot and stuff, and from the single moment then Joan exits her house on the mission, "you won't breathe nothing, not even air". Watch it at night and you will be even more scared and will sweat just like Joan in the closet!
Rating:
Summary: Overly Lush Melodrama - Wonderful!
Review: What a hoot of a film! It is a classic Joan Crawford "Queen Bee, poor me the victim" story. Crawford plays an ultra-wealthy San Franciscan socialite who writes incredably successful plays in New York City - non-stop! Plus she's just so nice and polite, that when she doesn't think the new leading man is sexy enough, she can't bear to fire him - so she gets someone else to. BIG mistake! Poor Joan 'falls in love' with conniving rejected actor. Actor then schemes with Gloria Grahame (of "Oklahoma's" girl who can't say "no" fame) to well...it doesn't matter. Joan's character is so annoying blind to the scheme that even when she has blatant evidence of the 'plot against her' she has this extended, drawn-out, wild-eyed scene of disbelief that is; well, hard to friggin' believe! What fantastic overacting! The ending is predictable and a little far fetched. Palance is great as the 'bad' actor and Grahame was so young, but so good! She deserved an Oscar for this performance. The last minute is surreal. Joan's character turns from deathly horrified to a smiling "life is going to be okay" facade in less than 60 seconds! Talk about wrapping up a film as quickly as possible! Trivia: Poor Joan was showing her age in this film (bad hair; grey showing) and it's tough to believe that Palance's character (hunky, hunky) would love her for more than money. Joan - always the victim!
|
