Whirlpool

Summary

“You were wise not to tell your husband, Mrs. Sutton. A successful marriage is usually based on what a husband and wife don’t know about each other.”

Distribution label Twilight Time has recently released the classic Otto Preminger thriller Whirlpool on Blu-ray. Starring Gene Tierney, Jose Ferrer, and Richard Conte, the film is an entertaining and engaging psychological thriller with some solid noir elements. The film features a screenplay by Ben Hecht and Adam Solt based on a novel by Guy Endore. I love thrillers from this era, and I have always loved the screenwriting of Ben Hecht, so I immediately viewed the film upon receiving my copy. 

At a department store, a woman (Gene Tierney) is stopped from leaving the premises by a store detective. He pulls out an expensive decorative pin from her bag which an employee saw her steal. The woman is taken to an office, but along the way she faints. Awaking, she is asked her name. She does not want to give it out. While the store manager can prove that she stole the pin, a man (Jose Ferrer) walks in to the office and lets everyone know that she is the wife of William Sutton (Richard Conte)- a famous psychoanalyst. The man convinces the manager to let Ann Sutton put the pin on her husband’s account and leave the store without being charged for the crime. Ann goes home and is unable to tell her husband what has happened. She hides the pin. The next day Ann receives a phone call from the man who had come to her defense at the store and she rearranges her plans in order to meet him for lunch. Ann assumes the man plans to blackmail her over the publicity that could be caused for her psychoanalyst husband. His career could be ruined by failing to diagnose her as a kleptomaniac. The man lets Ann know he has no intention of blackmail and also he had removed the incident report from the department store. He introduces himself as David Korvo. They go to a party where it is revealed that David uses hypnosis and other sciences to help clients. He is incredibly observant and can make a detailed prognosis on the spot for strangers. He offers to help Ann to relieve her condition through hypnosis. All seems to go well and she returns home to her husband. He is leaving for a big conference. Ann gets the best sleep she has had in years. She returns to visit David Korvo at a restaurant. David tries to convince her to leave her marriage for him. She refuses his advances but agrees to take him on as her routine hypnotist to treat her daily. That evening, in a state of hypnosis, she drives to a house and deposits two patient recordings from her home into a closet. When she awakes from the hypnosis, she has no memory and has been found at the scene of a murder. She immediately becomes the lead suspect in the murder, and her husband must find a way to prove her innocence.

Whirlpool is a stylish thriller that benefits from a good performance and a great performance. Gene Tierney is good in the role of Ann, but Jose Ferrer is great in the role of David Korvo. It is safe to say that Jose Ferrer steals the film. Otto Preminger was an exceptional director and he capably directs the film. The cinematography in the film is well thought out, even if it does not have any showpiece scenes that jump to my mind. 

The screenplay by Ben Hecht and Adam Solt, adapted from the novel by Guy Endore, does an excellent job of setting in place the machinations that the plot revolves around. I personally found that the first hour was a little bit better fleshed out than the last thirty minutes, but that is a pretty minor complaint given the film’s overall success. I was particularly interested in the plot because I was actually hypnotized just over a year ago to quit smoking cigarettes. I have seen firsthand how effective hypnosis can be to cure addictions. I think that the fear of losing control of one’s self is one of the defining fears that people face and I like the way the film taps into that fear. The music by David Raksin in the film is effective and builds an appropriate level of suspense.

Overall – film noir enthusiasts will enjoy this thriller. There is a lot to like.

Video

20th Century Fox has granted Twilight Time a hypnotically alluring transfer of Whirlpool. The new transfer from 20th Century Fox looks great. Presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio with an MPEG-4 AVC encode, the black and white levels are well defined and sharp looking. As you would expect, there are bars on both sides of the picture, Fine detail is excellent. Fans should be extremely pleased to see the film looks so nice.

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 2.0 track sounds great and features a well-appointed score by David Raksin. The music in the film goes a long way to highlight the intensity of the final scenes. Dialogue is clear. While the track does not feature any notable directionality, it sounds nice overall.

Supplements

Original Theatrical Trailer (also available with Isolated Music Track)

Isolated Music Track

Audio Commentary by Richard Shenkel – this is a fun commentary with great anecdotes and details. He discusses how this was part of four films which Preminger directed with women in criminal plots.

Overall scores

Video – 4.5/5 

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 2.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Whirlpool is an entertaining thriller with some really interesting elements. Dye to my recent hypnosis, I was particularly interested in checking out this picture. Gene Tierney turns in a good performance, but Jose Ferrer steals the whole picture. I am glad that Twilight Time has given this film another chance to find some new devotees. The transfer for the film looks great. Fans will be glad to have it on Blu-ray. Recommended.