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I Wake Up Screaming

Play trailer Poster for I Wake Up Screaming Released Oct 31, 1941 1h 22m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Glamorous starlet Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis) is murdered, and the cops want to pin the killing on her manager, fast-talking Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature). But the more Vicky's sensible sister, Jill (Betty Grable), finds out about Frankie, the less she suspects him of the crime. As Jill and Frankie fall in love, the detective in charge of the case (Laird Cregar) develops a morbid obsession with punishing Frankie, leading to a shocking conclusion.

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Jennie Kermode Eye for Film By restructuring the footage and playing around with it in this way, O'Neill presents a guide to the construction of terror... Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 7, 2020 Full Review Sean Axmaker Seanax.com ... not just one of the great movie titles of classic cinema, it is one of the films that established the distinctive style and attitude of film noir... Jan 28, 2017 Full Review Pablo Villaça Cinema em Cena Representando um dos primeiros passos do cinema noir, um filme que, apesar da boa presena de Cregar, mostra-se irregular em seu tom e que tropea, tambm, na performance frgil de Mature. Rated: 2/5 Sep 11, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 4/5 Jun 14, 2005 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Marvelously sinister performance by Laird Cregar. Rated: B Dec 19, 2004 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Superior thriller from an underrated director. Rated: 4/5 Sep 23, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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nick s A fairly solid noir, though nothing outstanding. It started quite well and promised a lot. But it didn't quite deliver. The middle floundered somewhat as the audience wasn't given much more info about the crime and things just seemed to meander along. Good performances from the cast. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/22/24 Full Review Grumpy Old G This film has a great opening act that pulls us in because we have no idea where the plot is headed. Later when we do know, we'll look back on this opening act with annoyance because the rest of the film has never lived up to its potential. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/04/23 Full Review Deke P VERY good 1941 movie. Great cast. BETTY GRABLE in a swimsuit at 'the plunge'. interesting that the background theme for this film was "SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW". Saw most of it on tv, 7.4.23 SPOILER ALERT below; There's a twist. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/05/23 Full Review Audience Member This film could have been SO much better if not for the lousy film score. Erase all of the music and you'd have a memorable little film noir. Cregar plays an especially creepy character. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Luca D A fun little film noir. The lines are great but the delivery on them is a bit square. The plot is not too deep but sometimes that is all you need. Funny though I don't recall anyone waking up screaming in the movie? I would recommend this to people who are just warming up to film noirs. Not a must see by any means, but definitely a great load of suspense and excitement. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/03/22 Full Review Audience Member A noir completely elevated by its antagonist and the psychology at play. Otherwise, a pretty predictable affair. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews
I Wake Up Screaming

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I Wake Up Screaming

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Movie Info

Synopsis Glamorous starlet Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis) is murdered, and the cops want to pin the killing on her manager, fast-talking Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature). But the more Vicky's sensible sister, Jill (Betty Grable), finds out about Frankie, the less she suspects him of the crime. As Jill and Frankie fall in love, the detective in charge of the case (Laird Cregar) develops a morbid obsession with punishing Frankie, leading to a shocking conclusion.
Director
H. Bruce Humberstone
Producer
Milton Sperling
Screenwriter
Dwight Taylor
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 31, 1941, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Runtime
1h 22m