Strange Bargain
| Strange Bargain | |
|---|---|
|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Will Price |
| Produced by | Sid Rogell |
| Screenplay by | Lillie Hayward |
| Story by | J.H. Wallis |
| Starring |
Martha Scott Jeffrey Lynn Harry Morgan |
| Music by | Friedrich Hollaender |
| Cinematography | Harry J. Wild |
| Edited by | Frederic Knudtson |
Production company | |
Release dates | |
Running time | 68 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Strange Bargain is a 1949 American crime film noir directed by Will Price, and starring Martha Scott, Jeffrey Lynn and Harry Morgan.[2]
Plot
A bookkeeper in need of money agrees against his own better judgement to help a wealthy man carry out an elaborate suicide plan.
Cast
- Martha Scott as Georgia Wilson
- Jeffrey Lynn as Sam Wilson
- Harry Morgan as Lt. Richard Webb
- Katherine Emery as Edna Jarvis
- Richard Gaines as Malcolm Jarvis
- Henry O'Neill as Timothy Hearne
- Walter Sande as Sgt. Cord
- Michael Chapin as Roddy Wilson
- Arlene Gray as Hilda Wilson
- Raymond Roe as Sydney Jarvis
- Robert Bray as Det. McTay
Reception
Critical response
A.H. Weiler, the film critic for the New York Times penned a fairly positive review. He wrote, "As a modest entry from Hollywood, Strange Bargain, which began a stand yesterday as the associate attraction to the Palace's vaudeville bill, is surprisingly diverting fare. Obviously not intended to set a cinematic landmark, it is, nevertheless, a melodrama that presents an extraordinary situation fairly suspensefully and, for the most part, through intelligent dialogue and direction. And, while it follows a familiar outline as a crime and punishment adventure, it does so neatly and with competent characterizations."[3]
Film critic Dennis Schwartz called the film "[a] well-conceived mystery B-film, but strictly second feature material." He also added in his review, an interesting anecdote regarding a re-make of the film on television, "Strange Bargain showed up in a 1989 (sic) episode of TV's Murder, She Wrote. By removing the original happy ending, the TV installment allowed Angela Lansbury to solve the mystery of the boss' murder--and to exonerate the long-imprisoned bookkeeper, played again by Jeffrey Lynn. Also appearing on this Murder She Wrote were Lynn's Strange Bargain costars Martha Scott and Henry Morgan.[4]
In actuality, the episode aired in April 1987, during the show's third season. And, it was originally entitled "The Days Dwindle Down."
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Strange Bargain: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ↑ Strange Bargain at the American Film Institute Catalog.
- ↑ Weiler, A.H. The New York Times, film review, September 30, 1949. Accessed: July 31, 2013.
- ↑ Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, April 17, 2001. Accessed: July 31, 2013.