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      The House on Telegraph Hill

      Released May 13, 1951 1h 33m Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 61% 250+ Ratings Audience Score Upon emerging from a Nazi death camp, Victoria Kowelska (Valentina Cortesa) takes the identity of a friend who died there. She travels to the United States where she meets her friend's son, Chris (Gordon Gebert), and discovers that she has come into a large inheritance. Eventually, she gets involved with the boy's guardian, Alan (Richard Basehart), and marries him. However, after some suspicious accidents, she starts to believe that Alan may be trying to kill her so he can claim the money. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Sep 18 Buy Now

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      Critics Reviews

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      David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a compelling setup that’s employed to deliberate yet increasingly engrossing effect by Wise... Rated: 3.5/4 Jan 15, 2023 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Heavy on eerie atmosphere. Rated: B Mar 20, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      harwee h Basic but William Lundigan tho Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/23/24 Full Review Audience Member I went into this movie with no expectations and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I really liked the way the tension mounts throughout the story. The plot keeps you guessing all the way through and the whole cast put in some very solid performances. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review deke p VERY INTERESTING , so i'll giver it a 4 stars, maybe ore later. RICHARD BASEHART again!! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent drama and suspense. Way better than the two stars the critics gave it. Many twists and turns right up until the end. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Valentina Cortese plays a Polish concentration camp survivor who adopts the identity of a friend who died in the camp in order to have a better life in San Francisco (the friend had told of a rich aunt who was caring for her young son sent overseas to avoid the Holocaust). However, she soon learns that the aunt is dead and her attempts to connect with the orphaned son are spurned by the lawyers for the new guardian; however, when she travels to New York, she meets the guardian, Alan Spender (Richard Baseheart), who soon ends up proposing to her. As a couple, they return to San Francisco where an unfriendly governess awaits them along with the son who soon warms to his returned "mother" (who he doesn't remember). Pretty soon, however, Victoria/Karin (Cortese) starts to suspect that someone is trying to murder her AND the son. It could be the governess ... or the husband/guardian (who stands to inherit the fortune which was left to the son). Director Robert Wise manages the production well but the script really lets him down. Although suspense is generated by the possible threats against Victoria/Karin and ambiguity about whether she is just paranoid IS created, the fact that her identity theft is simply disregarded and has no implications for the plot at all (despite Victoria revealing that she is not really Karin to a US Major from the liberation team) is bizarre. In other words, the film sets up a premise that is never fulfilled in the action. All that said, the film isn't a bad noir melodrama. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Suspenseful film noir with a unique angle. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The House on Telegraph Hill

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Upon emerging from a Nazi death camp, Victoria Kowelska (Valentina Cortesa) takes the identity of a friend who died there. She travels to the United States where she meets her friend's son, Chris (Gordon Gebert), and discovers that she has come into a large inheritance. Eventually, she gets involved with the boy's guardian, Alan (Richard Basehart), and marries him. However, after some suspicious accidents, she starts to believe that Alan may be trying to kill her so he can claim the money.
      Director
      Robert Wise
      Screenwriter
      Elick Moll, Frank Partos
      Distributor
      20th Century Fox
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      May 13, 1951, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jul 1, 2011
      Runtime
      1h 33m
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