Conflict (1945 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Conflict | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Curtis Bernhardt |
| Produced by | William Jacobs |
| Written by | Alfred Neumann (story) Robert Siodmak (story) Arthur T. Horman Dwight Taylor |
| Starring | Humphrey Bogart Alexis Smith Sydney Greenstreet |
| Music by | Frederick Hollander |
| Cinematography | Merritt B. Gerstad |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | June 15, 1945 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 86 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Conflict (1945) is a black-and-white suspense film made by Warner Brothers. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt, produced by William Jacobs with Jack L. Warner as executive producer from a screenplay by Arthur T. Horman and Dwight Taylor, based on the story The Pentacle by Alfred Neumann and Robert Siodmak. It starred Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith and Sydney Greenstreet.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Richard (Humphrey Bogart) and Kathryn Mason (Rose Hobart) appear to be a happily married couple. But in truth, Richard secretly loves his wife's younger sister, Evelyn Turner (Alexis Smith). When his wife confronts him about it and says divorce is out of the question, Richard takes desperate action.
Richard, a wealthy architect pretending to be wheelchair bound, coldly plans to murder his wife on a car trip to a mountain resort, where he is to receive therapy. At the last minute, Richard stays home to finish a work project and has Evelyn go on alone. He surprisingly appears out of the shadows and blocks the deserted road with his car. After strangling her and pushing her car off the road, Richard returns home to use his employees as an alibi. But when Katherine is reported missing, family friend and psychologist Dr. Mark Hamilton (Sydney Greenstreet) suspects Richard is responsible when he slips by telling detectives that Kathryn was wearing a rose. Hamilton gave Kathryn the rose after she had left her husband, something he should have no way of knowing. The doctor then works with the police to plant clues for Richard to find that are designed to make him think that his wife might actually still be alive.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Humphrey Bogart | Richard Mason |
| Alexis Smith | Evelyn Turner |
| Sydney Greenstreet | Dr. Mark Hamilton |
| Rose Hobart | Kathryn Mason |
| Charles Drake | Prof. Norman Holsworth |
| Grant Mitchell | Dr. Grant |
| Patrick O'Moore | Det. Lt. Egan |
| Ann Shoemaker | Nora Grant |
| Edwin Stanley | Phillips |
[edit] Reaction
Film historians Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward comment "The film is particularly memorable for the use of the song "Tango of Love" as leitmotif to indicate the putative reappearance of Katherine, with the background strings translating the scent of perfume; the opening trucking shot through the rain-soaked night up to the window of the Mason house, which allows the audience to eavesdrop on the dinner party; and the sinister appearance of Bogart as he steps out of the shadows to murder his wife."
[edit] References
- ^ Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward (1992). Film Noir An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style. The Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-479-5.
[edit] External links
- Conflict at the TCM Movie Database
