High Wall (1947)

★ 6.2 1h 39m IMDb

Drama Thriller Crime

Steven Kenet, suffering from a recurring brain injury, appears to have strangled his wife. Having confessed, he's committed to an understaffed county asylum full of pathetic inmates. There, Dr. Ann Lorrison is initially skeptical about Kenet's story and reluctance to undergo treatment. But against her better judgement, she begins to doubt his guilt.

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Cast

Robert Taylor as Steven Kenet Died 1969 · Filley, Nebraska, USA Robert Taylor (born Spangler Arlington Brugh; August 5, 1911 – June 8, 1969) was an American film and television actor who was one of the most popular leading men of his time. Taylor began his career...

Audrey Totter as Dr. Ann Lorrison Died 2013 · Joliet, Illinois, USA Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013), was a captivating American actress celebrated for her compelling performances in film noir during the 1940s and 1950s. A former MGM contrac...

Herbert Marshall as Willard I. Whitcombe Died 1966 · London, England, UK Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who, despite losing a leg during the First World War, starred in many popular and well-regar...

Dorothy Patrick as Helen Kenet Died 1987 Dorothy Patrick (born Dorothea Wilma Davis) was a Canadian-American film actress and a John Robert Powers model..

H.B. Warner as Mr. Slocum Died 1958 · London, England, UK Henry Byron Warner (often credited as H.B. Warner) was an English actor. He was the definitive cinematic Jesus Christ in Cecil B.

Warner Anderson as r. George Poward Died 1976 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA Warner Anderson (March 10, 1911 – August 26, 1976) was an American actor, best known for his starring roles in TV dramas The Lineup and Peyton Place. Anderson was born to "a theatrical family" in Broo...

Director Curtis Bernhardt

Cast Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall, Dorothy Patrick, H.B. Warner, Warner Anderson, Moroni Olsen, John Ridgely, Morris Ankrum, Elisabeth Risdon

John Chard 7.5/10 Jan 11, 2014

Murders and Medicinal Mania.

High Wall is directed by Curtis Bernhardt and adapted to screenplay by Sydney Boehm and Lester Cole from the play by Alan R. Clark and Bradbury Foote. It stars Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall, Dorothy Patrick and H.B. Warner. Music is by Bronislau Kaper and cinematography by Paul Vogel.

Suffering from a brain injury sustained during the war, Steven Kenet (Taylor) is further rocked by the realisation that he may have strangled his wife during one of his blackout episodes. Committed to a county asylum, Steven responds to treatment by Dr. Ann Lorrison (Totter) and comes to believe he just might be innocent of his wife’s murder. But can he convince the authorities? Can he in fact get out of the asylum to find proof?

By 1947 film noir had firmly encompassed the plot strand involving returning veterans from the war. Plot would find them struggling to readjust into society, they would be battle scarred, emotionally torn or suffering some form of injury, such as a popular favourite of film makers of the time, the amnesia sufferer. High Wall is one of the better pictures from the original film noir cycle to deal with this premise. Where except for a daft method used to bring the story to its conclusion, it’s a well thought out and intelligent picture.

The pairing of Taylor and Totter is one of the film’s strengths, they are helped no end by having parts that requires them to veer away from roles that they were accustomed to. Bernhardt and Vogel dress the picture up superbly, the camera glides eerily around the asylum, throwing impressive shadows across the drama, and the camera technique used for Kenet’s flashback sequences proves mood magnificent. Out of the asylum the visuals still remain beautiful whilst still exuding a bleakness befitting the unfolding story, with rain drenched streets the order of the night. While Kaper drifts a suitably haunting musical score across proceedings.

It’s unhurried and cares about attention to details, and even though some of the ethics involved in story are dubious, this is a smart entry in the psychological film noir canon. 7.5/10