Release Date: November 4th, 1949 (London premiere)
Directed by: Robert Siodmak
Written by: Ketti Frings, Marty Holland
Music by: Victor Young
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, Paul Kelly
Wallis-Hazen, Paramount Pictures, 100 Minutes
Review:
“I wish so much crime didn’t take place after dark. It’s so unnerving.” – Thelma Jordan
I guess the coolest thing about The File On Thelma Jordan is that it brought prominent classic film-noir director, Robert Siodmak, together with classic film-noir star, Barbara Stanwyck. Seeing the finished product, their joint effort at making something solid doesn’t disappoint.
While I can’t say that this is either Siodmak’s or Stanwyck’s best, they still brought their A-game and made a compelling picture out of a fairly redundant and derivative noir story.
The plot sees an assistant D.A. fall for a woman with some dark things in her past. He uses his power to get her off of a murder charge but ultimately finds out that she isn’t so innocent and her devious husband is still waiting in the shadows, ready to pull her away again, as he’s also tied into this plot. However, the femme fatale does realize she has feelings for the assistant D.A. she strung along and she does something drastic to salvage whatever she can.
Barbara Stanwyck is powerful as hell in this and she commands every scene, almost overshadowing everyone else in the picture. However, she’s not as devious and dark as she was in the masterpiece that made her a real star, Double Indemnity. Still, she never disappoints and she certainly doesn’t in this.
In fact, the only thing that hurts the film, somewhat, is that I felt like she didn’t have a true equal to play off of. Sure, Wendell Corey and Paul Kelly are both very good but neither of them seem to have the chemistry with Stanwyck that Double Indemnity‘s Fred MacMurray had.
From a visual standpoint, this looks just as good as you would expect if you’re familiar with Robert Siodmak’s work in film-noir. Superb lighting, perfect use of shadow and just crisp and pristine, all around.
Also, Siodmak typically gets the very best out of his actors. I think his job, in that regard, may have been too easy in the case of Stanwyck. She’s just a dynamo.
The File On Thelma Jordan is a neat movie to check out if you love classic noir, Stanwyck or the directorial style of Siodmak.
Rating: 8/10
Pairs well with: other film-noir pictures by Robert Siodmak, as well as those starring Barbara Stanwyck.
Talking Pulp 