Phantom Lady

Released Jan 22, 1944

1h 27m

Mystery & Thriller

List

90%

10 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Scott Henderson's (Alan Curtis) innocuous evening with a strange woman becomes crucial when he is later accused of murdering his wife on the same evening. When Scott's story is disbelieved and a trial fails to bring forth the "phantom lady," Scott's devoted girl Friday, secretary Carol Richman (Ella Raines), begins her own investigation with the aid of police inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez). A high point is Carol's unexpected kinky moment with an obsessed jazz drummer (Elisha Cook Jr.).

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Steve D

Effective if not remarkable thriller.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/04/24

Full Review

laurent b

Nice kind of film-noir thriller, though the plot is full of inconsistencies, and the acting not always convincing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A beautiful dame rescues her boss from having been framed for his wife's murder. Thus, the noir script of men rescuing beautiful dames is flipped. About halfway through, the convicted man's "best friend" shows up and it doesn't take long to figure out he's the one whodunnit - and I'm the kind of guy who usually doesn't finger the guilty party so early. There's a lovely scene of a train platform at night with lights shining down on a couple of people like spotlights that firmly establishes the film's noir cred. Johnny C. sez check it out, even if there's no real surprises along the way.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

paul d

The Phantom Lady is a stylized and very good, quasi-noir murder mystery and thriller. Ella Raines gives a fine and genuine performance. The first half of the film is the mystery part, and is excellent, while the second half is the thriller and is not as good, possibly because we know the identity of the killer.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Having in mind that this was shot in 1944, this is a quite effective thriller who balances greatly the who-did-it mystery of the first half with the suspense of the second half (after we find out who the killer is).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Laughable noir with plot holes galore. The first film to reveal the how terrible drum miming to jive music can lead to overacting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

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Robert Siodmak

Director

Franchot Tone

Jack Marlow

Ella Raines

Carol 'Kansa' Richman

Alan Curtis

Scott Henderson

Aurora Miranda

Estela Monteiro

Thomas Gomez

Inspector Burgess

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Ed Gonzalez

Slant Magazine

Channeling the spirit of the Russians (Eisenstein, Dovshenko, Vertov), the director uses grotesque angles, close-ups, and rhythms to suggest a powerful sense of seduction and torture.

May 1, 2006

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Sure, it’s built on the kinds of plot contrivances common to murder mysteries of the time but it has wit and Sidmak drives it with a snappy pace.

Mar 4, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...compelling subject matter that's employed to somewhat erratic yet mostly rewarding effect...

Rated: 3/4

Oct 31, 2020

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

In the end, an unobservant, unfocused antagonist arranges clunky closing shots that feel rushed, unpolished, and ineffective.

Rated: 4/10

Aug 14, 2020

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The first half is phenomenal. But it's not too difficult to figure out the killer even before he's revealed at the film's halfway point, and his prominence during the second half undermines the intrigue.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 21, 2019

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A compelling crime drama and intense thriller.

Mar 1, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Scott Henderson's (Alan Curtis) innocuous evening with a strange woman becomes crucial when he is later accused of murdering his wife on the same evening. When Scott's story is disbelieved and a trial fails to bring forth the "phantom lady," Scott's devoted girl Friday, secretary Carol Richman (Ella Raines), begins her own investigation with the aid of police inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez). A high point is Carol's unexpected kinky moment with an obsessed jazz drummer (Elisha Cook Jr.).

Director: Robert Siodmak
Screenwriter: Bernard C. Schoenfeld, Cornell Woolrich
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 22, 1944, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 27m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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