Masked hearts
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Masked hearts |
| Original title | Sudden fear |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | David Miller |
| script |
Lenore J. Coffee Robert Smith |
| production | Joseph Kaufmann distributed by RKO Pictures |
| music | Elmer Bernstein |
| camera | Charles Lang |
| cut | Leon Barsha |
| occupation | |
| |
Masked Hearts (OT: Sudden Fear ) is an American film noir starring Joan Crawford from 1952. Thanks to financial and artistic success, Crawford made another comeback after a few commercially unsuccessful films. She received her third and final Oscar nomination for best actress for her performance . The film was released in German cinemas on March 27, 1953 with the title Ehe mit dem Satan , but was later released as Masked Hearts . It was later shown on television in a re-dubbing under Ice Cold Vengeance and released on DVD.
action
Myra Hudson is an extremely wealthy heiress and, as it were, the part-time author of numerous Broadway hits. During the rehearsals for her latest play, a romantic comedy, she is bothered by the actor Lester Blaine, whom she finds unattractive and charmless. She lets him fire. A few months later, by chance, Myra meets Lester again, who suddenly presents himself as a charming companion. The lonely Myra falls head over heels in love with Lester and marries him after just a few weeks without a marriage contract. Shortly after the wedding, Irene Nevis, Lester's former lover, shows up in San Francisco. She blackmailed him with his criminal past. At first, Lester indignantly refuses. But when he learns that Myra wants to transfer her entire fortune to a charitable foundation and wants to settle him with a legacy of 10,000 US dollars, he and Irene come up with a plan to kill his wife.
By chance, Myra found out about the appointment. At first she is appalled, but in the end she resists the obvious reaction of going to the police or at least informing her friends and acquaintances about the threat. Instead, she devises a counter-plan and uses her experience as a writer to set a trap for Lester and Irene: It should look as if Irene shot Lester, for which she would have to go to jail. The idea is good, but the execution goes completely wrong. Myra, dressed in a mink stole, evening dress and high heels, has to flee in a panic through the city at night, with Lester right on her heels. In the end, however, Lester confuses Irene with Myra due to a misunderstanding and kills himself and Irene in a rear-end collision. Myra is shaken, but safe.
background
After a series of artistically and financially disappointing films, Joan Crawford ended her contract with Warner Brothers in 1952 . After considering going to television for a while, she was offered the lead in Masked Hearts . Crawford acted as a co-producer and accepted a 40% profit share instead of their usual fee of $ 200,000. Casting the male lead required compromises. Marlon Brando , Crawford's number one choice, told No Mother-Son Stories with the charmless words ! from. Even Clark Gable could not bring to play a murderer. Jack Palance was chosen on the initiative of director David Miller. The film was shot on location in the San Francisco area, relatively inexpensively, for $ 720,000. Crawford received her third and final Oscar nomination for best actress for her performance at the Academy Awards in 1953 , but lost little Sheba to Shirley Booth in the end . Mike Connors , who later became known through the television series Mannix , made his film debut here.
Immediately after filming was over, Harry Cohn offered her the lead female role, being named above the title in second place after Montgomery Clift and a $ 120,000 salary plus profit sharing in Forever Damned . Due to petty arguments about her wardrobe, the actress turned down the role in the end and instead turned one of her greatest artistic and financial failures at MGM with the failed musical Hearts in Fever .
Joan Crawford had only fond memories of the film:
“Melodramatic till you drop, but the plot and script were good, not particularly original, but good. The cast couldn't have been better and the director ... not only knew what he was doing, he got everything out of us. No regrets about it. "
Theatrical release
With revenues of $ 1,650,000 in the US alone, the film proved to be a hit at the box office.
Reviews
The basic consensus of the critics was clearly positive as far as the performers were concerned. Some reviewers found the story itself to be badly constructed and illogical.
AH Weller found something akin to praise for Crawford in the New York Times :
“[She's good] at an endeavor that takes practically the full range of emotions from her. [...] The production is done with excellent taste and, it has to be emphasized, San Francisco, where most of the action takes place, is a very photogenic place. [...] Apart from the moments when the heroine has to go through real horror, shock and danger, "Masked Hearts" is basically a well-implemented melodrama, but not one that makes the hair stand up. "
Monica Sullivan reviewed the film 44 years later in Movie Magazine International , pointing out certain inconsistencies in the plot:
"Masked Hearts" is a good film noir, beautifully played by Crawford, [but] it requires you to simply accept certain things: a rich and famous screenwriter doesn't meet the love of her life until she is 48; she can actually walk all the way from Scott / Green to Greenwich / Hyde in high heels and a mink coat, then fall down a flight of stairs, then criss-cross the hills of San Francisco, only to end up with just one after all the exertion showing glamorous blush on the face. "
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1953 , the film received a total of four nominations without winning any of the coveted trophies:
- Best Actress: Joan Crawford
- Best Supporting Actor: Jack Palance
- Best camera (black and white): Charles Lang
- Best costume design (black and white): Sheila O'Brien
At the Golden Globe Awards in 1953 , the film received a nomination in the category:
- Best Actress in a Drama: Joan Crawford
literature
- Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
- Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
- Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
- Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .
Web links
- Masked heart in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Background information
- essay
- short synopsis, screenshots
Individual evidence
- ↑ Melodramatic as hell, but the story and script were strong, not too original but strong, and the casting couldn't have been better, and the director ... not only knew what he was doing but took cues from all of us. No regrets.
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ [She does] well in an exercise which involves practically all the emotions. [...] The entire production has been mounted in excellent taste and, it must be pointed out, that San Francisco, in which most of the action takes place, is an excitingly photogenic area. [...] Aside from the moments of genuine fear, shock and mental torture suffered by the harried heroine, "Sudden Fear" is simply a cleverly turned melodrama, but one that is hardly spine-chilling.
- ↑ "Sudden Fear" is great film noir, superbly acted by Crawford [but] you have to accept certain conventions: that a rich and famous playwright wouldn't meet the love of her life until age 48, that she could actually WALK all the way from Scott / Green to Greenwich / Hyde in high heels & a mink coat after falling down a flight of stairs and THEN run up & down the hills of San Francisco with only a glamorously glowing forehead as visible evidence of her ordeal.
