Cause for Alarm

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Cause for Alarm

Released Feb 2, 1951

1h 14m

Mystery & Thriller

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3 Reviews

28%

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250+ Ratings

As the delusional George Jones (Barry Sullivan) struggles to recover from a crippling heart attack, he begins to believe his wife, Ellen (Loretta Young), and friend, Dr. Grahame (Bruce Cowling), are planning to kill him in order to be together. George decides to write the authorities about his wife's supposed murder plot. But when he really does die, of health complications, the innocent Ellen realizes that she must stop the letter before she's accused of killing her husband.

Francois Truffaut

Arts (France)

The solidity of the scenario is sacrificed to effect. But all those effects hit home, perfectly timed, and isn’t that what counts?

May 6, 2022

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Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Strange, static thriller has interesting flashback.

Nov 30, 2015

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The film looked more like a 1950s TV show than a feature film.

Rated: C-

Feb 11, 2002

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acsdoug D

The film does a nice job of building suspense and showing the panic if Loretta Young's character. but the movie's resolution is too pat and simplistic to satisfy.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/18/24

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Audience Member

Low budget noir, atypical from MGM. Suspense-less yarn about a sick and paranoid husband who thinks his doctor and wife are trying to kill him. Made as a "dry run" for Loretta' TV career.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Audience Member

Plays like an episode of the TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents instead of one of Hitchcock's theatrical films.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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deke p

Saw long parts of it on TV, in 2000 teens

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

It's all Loretta Young is this fast-moving thriller.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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bill t

A bit of a ridiculous over-the-top melodrama that has Patricia Neal as a housewife whose husband dies of a heart condition, but not before he writes a letter to the D;A; implicating her trying to escalate his death! She mails it for him before he dies, not knowing the contents. But soon he dies, and she now knows what's in the letter, she tries like the dickens to try to get the letter back! A bit soap operish, and hard to believe, What, you believe everything you read?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Tay Garnett

Director

Loretta Young

Ellen Jones

Barry Sullivan

George Z. Jones

Bruce Cowling

Dr. Ranney Grahame

Margalo Gillmore

Mrs. Edwards

Brad Morrow

Hoppy

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Synopsis

As the delusional George Jones (Barry Sullivan) struggles to recover from a crippling heart attack, he begins to believe his wife, Ellen (Loretta Young), and friend, Dr. Grahame (Bruce Cowling), are planning to kill him in order to be together. George decides to write the authorities about his wife's supposed murder plot. But when he really does die, of health complications, the innocent Ellen realizes that she must stop the letter before she's accused of killing her husband.

Director: Tay Garnett
Producer: Tom Lewis
Screenwriter: Mel Dinelli, Tom Lewis
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 2, 1951, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 16, 2016
Runtime: 1h 14m

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