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Phantom Lady

Play trailer Poster for Phantom Lady Released Jan 22, 1944 1h 27m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
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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Phantom Lady

Critics Reviews

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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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ron T I understand that in most film noirs one must accept specific actions by some characters which may not make much sense. However, there are simply too many instances in this film to make the story even close to being acceptable. John Marlow (Franchot Tone) murders his business partner's wife on the night of their anniversary; a night Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) has planned in advance with dinner and the theater. After a feud with this wife Scott walks into a bar, meets a young woman (Ann Terry) wearing a very strange hat, and invites her to join him at the theater -- which she does. The woman demands that neither of them know the other person's name. While at the theater a member of the orchestra (Elisha Cook Jr.) makes eye contact with the young woman, attempting to come-on to her -- quite ridiculous! After parting with the unnamed woman Scott returns home and learns from three of the most over-acted detectives that his wife was murdered. Since Scott's only alibi is the woman with no name he is tried, convicted, and put on death row. Carol Richman (Ella Raines), Scott's secretary is out to prove his innocence. However, huge questions are unanswered. How did John get in contact with the bartender to lie about Alan and the unknown woman meeting there? How did the killer get in contact with Elisha Cook, Jr. How did he know about the unknown woman's hat? Too many unknown questions for me. The story doesn't make any sense at all. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/25 Full Review acsdoug D Ella Raines is nice to look at, but she's not much of an actress. Elisha Cook is a talented actor, but he delivers what is probably the worst pantomime drum performance in cinematic history. Still, the story is a good one, Siodnak's direction is excellent, and I loved the cinematography. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/28/24 Full Review Richard G. R Good little Noir Mystery. Fast paced, and Ella Raines is the star of the film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/09/24 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
Phantom Lady

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Movie Info

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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