Director Charles 'GILDA' Vidor's psychological crime drama has a few interesting touches as hard-boiled gangster Hal Wilson (Chester 'BOSTON BLACKIE' Morris) breaks out of jail, kills the warden and, together with his gang, hides out at psychology professor Dr. Shelby's (Ralph Bellamy) riverside home and holds him and his dinner party guests hostage whilst awaiting the boat to take them across the river to freedom. During a long dark night of the soul - and after Wilson has demonstrated his trigger-happy nature by murdering one of the male guests who stands up to him - Shelby manages to psychoanalyse the violent hoodlum and discovers what made him who he is. If this sounds somewhat familiar to crime movie buffs it's because it was remade nine years later as THE DARK PAST (with, respectively, William Holden and Lee J. Cobb in the principal roles of gangster and shrink) when the post-War trend for psychoanalysis may have lent it greater resonance. The culture clash elements in BLIND ALLEY would probably have resonated more with an audience of the day familiar with the narrative and thematic tropes of the earlier THE PETRIFIED FOREST but what makes this interesting today are some interesting stylistic touches like Wilson's recurring nightmare shown in reverse negative and his final recovered memory revealed in subjective I-camera point of view. Otherwise, the film never really betrays its origins as a stage play and often feels rather static and talky even with a running time of just over an hour. Still, it's interesting to see a couple of now almost forgotten 30s stars like Chester Morris and Ann 'SCARFACE' Dvorak as the hard-boiled gangster and his moll as well as a film attempting to do something different with the crime movie staples of the day even if it all inevitably seems a shade simplistic and formulaic in these more morally compromised times. However, it's an elusive title these days and is still recommended to fans of vintage crime movies who get the chance to see it.
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noir guy14 November 2006
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rmax30482326 March 2008A couple of gangsters, led by Chester Morris and his moll, Anne Dvorak, invade the very proper and bourgeois vacation lodge of psychiatrist Ralph Bellamy and his guests, and they take the place over while waiting either for a chance to escape or a chance to shoot it out with the cops.
I'll tell you something. Chester Morris couldn't have stumbled into a wronger place. The tweedy, pipe-smoking, unflappable Ralph Bellamy pegs Morris immediately as a Freudian delight. To pass the hours away, between chess games, Bellamy beings to probe Morris, gently. Why, for instance, does Morris have those hysterically paralyzed fingers? Why does he have that recurring dream about rain dripping through the hole in his umbrella? At first, Morris reacts irritably to all this "screwy" stuff. "You're screwy!", he tells Bellamy. Everything Morris, in his ne plus ultra gangsta mode, does not understand, he calls "screwy." That renders just about everything in Bellamy's greater vicinity "screwy" because Morris understands nothing of what's going on.
Bellamy helpfully draws him a sort of a cartoon, illustrating the mind, according to the received wisdom of 1939. You see, this is the inside of your head. And up here is the conscious mind -- everything you know about. But down here is what we call the unconscious, the bad stuff that the conscious mind wants to forget about. There's a guardian that keeps the unconscious down where it belongs, called "the censor band." But -- are you taking notes? -- but sometimes the censor weakens, as when we fall asleep, and some of the unconscious memories and desires can creep out in disguised form and show up in our dreams. Or sometimes the forbidden memories take the form of physical symptoms, such as paralyzed hands or fingers. The wind up is that Chester Morris is cured in sixty-nine minutes by Ralph Bellamy. He'll never shoot another gun.
Actually, Bellamy's explanation of psychoanalysis according to Freud isn't badly presented. I'm glad he stuck with Freud and only two levels of consciousness. If he had ever gotten into Carl Jung, who split up the personality into so many overlapping and contradictory parts that they could have spread out and still filled up the heads of a dozen ordinary neurotics -- well, the audience would have been afloat in a world of some sticky dualistic excreta.
At that, though, the movie was probably interesting and educational in 1939, the year of Freud's death. Psychoanalysis was about at its peak and there may have been a certain public curiosity about just what was going on. This answers the question, though it does so in the same way that the Catholic catechism explains the mysteries of the world. "Who made the world?" "Freud made the world." A bit more than a decade later, it was remade almost shot-for-shot as the noir-sounding "The Dark Past," with William Holden running around and calling everybody "screwy." Holden is a more versatile actor than Chester Morris, but this role is so stereotyped that Morris and his clipped sneer are preferable. Still, it's of interest in reflecting certain interests, not just of 1939 or 1950, but of more enduring value. After all, Freud practically invented the subconscious single-handed, and without our grasp of psychodynamics, would we have the efficient marketing we have today of Viagra and SUVs and politicians? -
whpratt128 March 2008Enjoyed this film starring Chester Morris, (Hal Wilson) who has escaped from a prison along with a group of criminals with him. Hal finds a home which is near water where he can make his escape by boat and takes over a home of Dr. Shelby, (Ralph Bellamy) who is a college professor and also a psychiatrist. Dr. Shelby has a house full of guests, his wife and young son and the home becomes one big nightmare for everyone. Shelby tries to calm Hal Wilson and decides to try and solve his mental problems because Hal has killed one person in his house and is capable of killing everyone in the house. The entire household is struggling to keep calm and at the same time try to keep alive. Great Classic 1939 film with all great veteran actors. Enjoy.
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Michael_Elliott16 June 2008Blind Alley (1939)
*** (out of 4)
Columbia thriller based on a 1935 Broadway play has Chester Morris playing a gangster who escapes from prison and eventually takes a psychiatrist (Ralph Bellamy) and his family and friends hostage. Soon the psychiatrist starts to work on the gangster to try and break him down so that everyone can make it out of the situation okay. This is an extremely well made and well acted "B" film that manages to be very entertaining from start to finish. What really sets this film apart from others like it are the performances by the two leads. Morris, due to his Boston Blackie films, has become one of my favorite actors and I think this is the best work I've seen from him. The character he plays is pretty much cold-hearted from start to finish and is just as dark as the character he played in Three Godfathers. There's no charm in this character and Morris really comes off as a very threatening figure. He also manages to be very convincing during the mental breakdown scenes when the doctor starts to work him over. Bellamy, another one of my favorite "B" actors, is also very good. His calm, cool and collective nature and that wonderful voice really pays off well here against Morris. Ann Dvorak from Scarface turns in fine support as the gangster's girlfriend. There are a couple very interesting aspects worth noting. One is an underlined child molestation that Morris suffered as a child. This isn't thrown out into the open but it isn't hinted at, which I'm surprised got by the Hayes Office. Another interesting segment is the dream sequence where we see a dream that is constantly haunting Morris. This was shot with a reverse negative and the look is very good and eerie. This film was later remade as The Dark Past. -
mark.waltz26 September 2014Psychology professor Ralph Bellamy finds himself the victim of the type of criminal he's been studying and teaching students about when a violent gangster (Chester Morris), newly escaped from prison, busts in on his evening dinner party, taking him and his family and his guests hostage. This is an early variation of "The Desperate Hours", but the criminal will find that the tables will be turned on him when Bellamy vows to his wife (Joan Perry) that he will use his knowledge to destroy Morris in order to save them all, especially after Morris shoots and kills one of Bellamy's favorite students in cold blood.
It's very ingenious and well crafted, and Bellamy's description to Morris about how the brain works is quite interesting, focusing on the conscience and sub conscience parts and how the conscience refuses to allow the sub conscience to enter that part of the brain in fear of being destroyed. Even a criminal with a violent nature like Morris has an issue that could destroy him, and here, Bellamy uses Morris's dreams in order to get to that sub conscience. In one of the best filmed dream sequences in film history, Morris reveals through his sub conscience the fears he's been living with all of his life. This makes his mistress (a very nervous Ann Dvorak) angry and threatens more violence.
Excellent both in its analytical matter and exposition that is never "teachy", "Blind Alley" is an early film noir where the mind is both the villain and the hero. The cast is uniformly excellent, although I'd have to describe Melville Cooper's character as a stupid fool whose actions could get everybody killed. Bellamy and Morris play each other like a chess game, an ironic twist of fate considering the chess board uniquely featured in Bellamy's den. This was remade less than a decade later as "The Dark Past" which explored even more of its film noir elements, but the original version is equally as thrilling. -
planktonrules26 March 2008This is a film that you just have to watch without thinking too much--particularly if you realizes how silly the film is from a psychological point of view. Chester Morris and his gang take a group of people hostage while hiding out from the police. With very little provocation, Morris kills one of the hostages and in response, the psychiatrist (Ralph Bellamy) decides to mess with Morris' mind in order to drive him over the edge. Much of the movie is spent watching Bellamy slowly gain Morris' trust and later they begin exploring the meaning and significance of Morris' recurring dream. This is amazingly silly, not only because the cops might burst into the home at any minute but because in only a short time they are able explore and work out ALL of Morris' problems!! Also, while the style of therapy and theory behind it seemed pretty sound for the 1930s, today a lot of this just seemed like very silly mumbo-jumbo. Still, if you can ignore the silliness of all this and Morris' over-acting, then it is an entertaining little film.
By the way, for a much better film without the mumbo-jumbo, try watching THE DESPERATE HOURS. This film is also about a vicious gang taking a family hostage but is far more realistic and compelling.
UPDATE: I just saw the remake of this film, "The Dark Past" (1948) and I think it's a superior picture. Much of this is due to William Holden's more subdued performance. -
SimonJack12 August 2018Chester Morris had a long career in Hollywood and on television, but he never made it as a leading man. In "Blind Alley," he plays Hal Wilson, a hardened criminal and killer. His performance seems overdone on the one hand, and not convincing on the other. But as the object of the wiles of Dr. Shelby, Wilson is interesting, even though his background is very familiar and predictable for such characters. This is a fine role for Ralph Bellamy who plays a very good Dr. Shelby.
Similar plots to this one have made it into films, with criminals taking up temporary residence in a home. But, this is the only one I can think of that has a psychiatrist-psychologist as one of the captives. And, Shelby's clever way to get Wilson to unravel is the heart of this crime mystery. He whips his Freudian psychology on Wilson
All the rest of the cast give good performances. Ann Dvorak is especially good as Mary, the moll of Wilson. -
LCShackley11 January 2009This thriller isn't a bad way to spend 69 minutes, thanks to some decent acting, a good supporting cast of character players, and fast pacing. But the novelty of psychoanalysis-as-solution has worn off after 70 years, and most modern audiences have heard the "blame the parents" ploy so often that it seems hackneyed. The director includes some special effects which also might have seemed novel at the time but now seem amateurish.
Ralph Bellamy plays a teacher of psychoanalysis who has to put his theories to work on a mad killer who has decided to use the prof's country house as a temporary hideaway. Chester Morris is the trigger-happy escaped con in a part that would have been more compelling with Cagney or Bogie in the role. This adapted play is stage-bound but keeps enough interest going to make you stay put for the explosive ending.
Watch for John "Perry White" Hamilton in a very small, non-speaking part. -
The Now Out-Of-Favor Freudian Psycho-Analytical Therapy and Dream Analysis was, in 1939,
a Relatively New Medical Treatment and Not as Controversial as it Would Become from the 60's.
Film-Noir Certainly Embraced the Mind-Expanding Premise and Exploited it Routinely .
With Bizarre Photographic Techniques to Visualize Dream Sequences and the Complex Nature of the Mind and Personality Development.
This Sleeper Noir Prototype is a Forgotten Film with Forgotten Stars.
But Viewed Contextually it is a Powerhouse Melodrama that is Well Acted and Scripted.
Considering the Difficulty Involved in the Grounding as Entertainment and Art in a 70 Minute Movie.
Ralph Bellamy's Psychiatrist and Chester Morris' Brutal Maniac Murderer Collide in a Night of Mind-Bending Suspense and Violent Outbursts.
Bellamy and His House Guests are Taken Hostage by Desperate Gangsters that are Psychotic Sociopaths with Nothing to Lose.
The Story has been Told Many Times but this is a Virtually Unknown, Unseen Little Move that has Many Surprises.
It's an "Edge of Your Seater" that Deserves Better. -
I wasn't going to say anything, as plenty has already been stated by numerous reviewers. However, I guess I will. I found Columbia's 1939 production of "Blind Alley" to be totally attention-holding and satisfying in its conclusion. Sure, it undoubtedly is far-fetched in its premise, happenstance, and unfolding, but it nonetheless was excellent entertainment for me. Additionally, the film doesn't look very dated, in part because there are few exterior scenes with cars and buildings, and also because the characters' concerns do not seem to be from an era passed long ago.
First, it was fun to see Morris return to a thoroughly badman stance after having portrayed more multi-dimensional characters in the years since "The Big House" (1930). And, of course, Morris would soon undertake the assignment of playing the haughty, cocky, smugly genial, and happily self-assured Boston Blackie... but there is no trace of that persona in "Blind Alley." Morris' bad man here is rotten all the way.
And then there is Ralph Bellamy, who plays this cool-under-pressure psychiatrist/professor in just the right tempo. Bellamy is not likely to come to mind in a chosen array of memorable actors, but yet I find it always difficult to not observe him closely in his pictures. His warm fixed smile and soothingly authoritative voice always command one's focus. He was highly competent, but yet it is vaguely understandable why he was not much in demand as the romantic lead... I think he was just not "risky" or "dangerous" enough.
Ann Dvorak probably enjoyed her outing as the female meanie, but as so often happens in movies about bad men and their associated women, one does wonder why she would be so in love with this monster. Maybe the good doctor should evaluate her situation, as well!
This movie is crisply moving, only 69 minutes long, and leaves the viewer with something about humanity to mull over. So in sum, I enjoyed it well and consumers of 1930's films should give it a try. -
This B-film from the late thirties can probably be considered way ahead of its time, dealing as it does with a psychiatric solution for the climax of the story. Hollywood would go much further with such themes in the '40s with the advent of films like "Spellbound", "Possessed" and "The Snake Pit".
RALPH BELLAMY is a pipe-smoking psychiatrist with a calm, cool demeanor who appears undisturbed when a psychotic serial killer (CHESTER MORRIS) and his gang intrudes on family and friends during a quiet holiday weekend. When Morris turns out to have bad dreams, psychiatrist Bellamy goes to work tracing the events that trigger the nightmares. Director Charles Vidor uses reverse negative images imaginatively to depict the dream sequence which movie buffs can immediately solve without any explanations from Bellamy.
ANN DVORAK is the gun moll acting tough with the house guests and confining the servants to the cellar, and MARC LAWRENCE is effective as one of the tough guys. MELVILLE COOPER has a role in which he's unusually heroic a year after playing the cowardly sheriff in "The Adventures of Robin Hood". SCOTTY BECKETT is a lively presence as the little boy who talks back to the bad men.
But the pat solution is too simplistic and the fact that Morris is willing to even listen to Bellamy's sermonizing and psychiatric talk makes the whole thing quite unrealistic. The remake with William Holden had the same problem and the same glaring faults. Another distraction is CHESTER MORRIS who seems to be chewing the scenery in his over-the-top impersonation of the psychotic killer. -
Ralph Bellamy had an unusually rich acting career that many people fail to notice some seventeen years after his death. I have had occasion (such as reviewing THE AWFUL TRUTH and TRADE WINDS) of noting his wonderfully goofy doofus characters. But he was also responsible for good dramatic performances, most notably as Franklin Roosevelt in the film SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO and later in the television series THE WINDS OF WAR, and even some dandy murderous villains from time to time. But then he was also filmdom's Ellery Queen. His lifetime Oscar, given to him at the tail end of his acting career, was well merited. Would that the Academy had done the same for other stars, such as the just deceased Richard Widmark.
This film, BLIND ALLEY, was shown on Turner Classic Film Network last night, and I had never seen it - but I was aware of it. The plot of BLIND ALLEY was used a decade later for the early William Holden - Lee J. Cobb thriller THE DARK PAST. It is the Holden movie (where he plays the role played by Chester Morris here) that people see more frequently, probably because it is William Holden starring. This is unfair not only to Bellamy's well restrained thinking hero, Dr. Shelby, but also to Morris' villain, Hal Wilson. Morris was one of Hollywood's busiest leading men in the early talkies period, but by 1939 he was relegated to leads in "B" features. Bellamy was doing yeoman work in supporting roles in the late 1930s, when not returning to the Broadway stage. He was in the other lead role in this film (possibly the actual lead role). If Morris's lead here is a sign of his decline as a leading man, it was a sign of Bellamy's rise in film stardom when he played Dr. Shelby.
Story is simple. Dr. Shelby is a psychiatrist, and a professor of psychiatry. His star pupil is Fred Landis (Stanley Brown), who is leaving college to start a new job in another state. Shelby invites Landis to his home for a going away party that night. Also in the house are Shelby's wife Doris and son Davy (Rose Stradner and Scotty Beckett), his close friend George Curtis and his wife Linda (Melville Cooper and Joan Perry), and a friend of the Curtises, novelist Dick Holbrook (John Eldredge), and two servants (Agnes - Anne Doran - and Harriot - Marie Blake). The household is enjoying the evening, awaiting the guest of honor, when their peace of mind is shattered. Enter escaped murderer Hal Wilson, his mistress Mary (Anne Dvorak), and his two gang members Buck (Marc Lawrence) and Nick (Milburn Stone). As you can see it is a good cast.
Having killed three more people (two guards and a warden - played by John Hamilton of "Superman" fame) - in his escape, Wilson has nothing to lose about killing anyone else. His plan is to be rescued by a boat crossing the lake in back of Shelby's home. So he and his gang take over the house, split up the various hostages (Buck watching the Curtises and Holbrook; Stone watching Doris and Davy; and the two servants tied up in the basement). Wilson and Shelby stay in the living room on the first floor and in the Doctor's study. And gradually Shelby's curiosity as a psychologist concentrates on Wilson's peculiar and violent personality. In particular two of his fingers that seem paralyzed on his right hand. Wilson keeps denying it's nothing more than from an accident, but Shelby know the fingers don't look physically damaged.
The hours pass and much comes out about personalities. And this is what made BLIND ALLEY more interesting to me than THE DARK PAST. The later movie did not deal with a secondary plot involving Mr. and Mrs. Curtis and Holbrook. Curtis is a prosperous stock broker, and has been married for some time to Linda, but the marriage has hit a rut. So she has been becoming all too close to Holbrook, much to Curtis's humiliation. But during the film it is Curtis who shows more guts in facing down the gang, in particular Buck (even attempting to attack him), while Holbrook reveals increasingly how cowardly he is. In the end Linda is far less enchanted by the novelist (ironically he writes adventure stories). The interesting casting of Melville Cooper (usually playing comic bits in his films) as a middle aged man who shows his real grit when the chips are down adds to the enjoyment of this second plot.
As nerves grow tenser tragedy does strike when Fred Landis shows up, and confronts Wilson and Buck. Wilson shows his answer for all problems with a sickening smile on his face. Wilson however has been having an odd dream that effects him - he hates rain as a result. Mary makes the suggestion to Dr. Shelby that maybe he could cure Wilson of this returning nightmare he has. Shelby slowly probes away at it - I will leave it to the viewer to see the film to understand what the secret is.
Although psychiatry in movies seems very superficial, one has to recall that there is a time constraint in film that forces some answer within sixty to ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes for the sake of the story line. Even so the solution of the dream, and of the basis for the evil that is Wilson, is well handled (including a very stylized flashback sequence). Bellamy does not strike a false note - however angry he really is at what has happened he remains the reasonable physician throughout the probing second half of the film. Morris matches him as a hateful figure, but one who one realizes is as helpless in his own way as his hostages and shooting victims usually are. The film is quite well made, and the stars certainly live up to the quality of the script. -
cgvsluis31 March 2022Interesting Film Noir involving an escaped convicted murderer, who holds a professor of psychology, his family and guests hostage at their lakeside home while waiting to flee the police in a boat.
The criminal, Hal Wilson, has some interesting affectations ...a repeated nightmare and an issue with his hand. The doctor played by Ralph Bellamy tries to get inside his head...convincing him that he can help prevent him from going crazy.
"You're like a man running down a blind alley in the dark..."
Ralph Bellamy has such a soothing voice he plays a great psychologist. This is a film that explores the psychoanalysis of a criminal mind.
Great cast, ok story, and good cinematography make this film noir one that is worth watching. -
jandbclarke4 May 2006I saw this movie when I was seven, 'way back in 1939. I had never seen anything like the dream sequence and the psychiatrist's explanation. They both were shot from the camera's viewpoint, something I wasn't to see again until Robert Montgomery's version of Raymond Chandler's "The Lady In The Lake. This stuck in my cerebellum since. The remake, "The Dark Past," with Wm. Holden wasn't quite as good, but then I was older and more sophisticated when I saw that one. And, anyone who says Chester Morris couldn't act obviously hasn't seen "The Big House," "Three Godfathers" (not the John Wayne one), or any of the Boston Blackie movies. P.S. Where are the Boston Blackie movies?
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snollen6314 August 2018Based on a 1935 Broadway success, this film presents an early "psychological" approach to depicting a cold-blooded criminal, here played by Chester Morris, an excellent and very versatile actor, ably supported by a fine cast including Ann Dvorak and Ralph Bellamy. My wife, Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen, and I are currently writing the first-ever book on Chester Morris, which hopefully will correct any oversights that have been made about this performer and introduce a new generation of classic film fans to his extensive body of work, on film, television and radio. Morris also was a well-respected star on stage, following in the footsteps of his father, William Morris, and sharing the profession with his younger brother, Adrian, who unfortunately died far too soon.
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bkoganbing10 August 2011When I wrote a review of the remake of Blind Alley that starred William Holden I had not yet seen this nor had investigated the Broadway play from where this film came from. I've come to some interesting conclusions as a result.
Chester Morris plays the killer role in Blind Alley which is a combination of The Petrified Forest and The Desperate Hours and the viewer will recognize parts of both those classics. Morris and his gang are on the run having just busted out of prison where they took the warden hostage and Morris kills him. He then takes refuge at the lakeside home of Ralph Bellamy and wife Rose Stradner who happen to be entertaining guests at the time.
Bellamy is a psychiatrist who teaches and after Morris coldbloodedly murders Stanley Brown one of his students he thinks the only way to save his and everyone else's lives is to get into his head. Bellamy is a cool customer doing this, especially with friends and family's lives at stake.
When Lee J. Cobb played the part of the psychiatrist in The Dark Past he was detached almost clinical in the way he probed at Holden. Bellamy is not looking at this as an experiment and now having seen both films I can say Bellamy's interpretation was superior.
Blind Alley originated as a play on Broadway by James Warwick with a 119 performance run in the 1935-36 season. Looking at that cast I saw that George Coulouris played the psychiatrist and this is one instance where we are so unfortunate that he did not do either movie version. Coulouris would really have been special in the part.
This film is a real sleeper from Columbia Pictures, don't miss it if ever broadcast again. -
1692723 June 2002I've seen BLIND ALLEY in 1946 when amercan films starts to come in europe after the war - I've never seen it again -In France nobody knows who was CHESTER MORRIS At this time i was looking at 400 films by year- Later films like DESPERATE HOURS with Bogart and PURSUED with Mitchum has remind me BLIND ALLEY (for PURSUED: when the kid is under the table-and for Desparate the psychanalyst subject between F March and Bogart) Am i wrong ? Chester Morris was not a very good actor i suppose but good enough for me
No dictionary french or english pays mention to his films (only tv) I'm know a movie poster collector and looking all the time for CHESTER'S FILMS NOIRS So, please, let me know about it - with thanks
Chichin -
From 1939, Blind Alley is a pure early noir that would be remade in 1948 with William Holden as the psychotic killer, played here by a tense and threatening Chester Morris. The 2 nightmares are dark sequences wonderfully shot by cinematographer Lucien Ballard. Ralph Bellamy as the psychiatrist is at the extreme opposite of Morris, he's calm and comforting, he knows he can handle the situation without any more killings.
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jarrodmcdonald-124 August 2023BLIND ALLEY is considered the forerunner of the home invasion sub-genre, which would become popular in the 1950s. It is a modestly budgeted Columbia programmer with a very strong cast of players, even the minor roles are performed by competent character actors. It does what many films set out to do yet often fail to achieve: it tells a provocative story in a thoughtful way that leaves you with some new perspective on human behavior.
The 69-minute drama starts with a deceptively calm prologue that features a college professor of psychiatry (Ralph Bellamy) with his students on an idyllic American campus. These are mostly well-mannered kids with a sense of humor who look up to their instructor. One student (Stanley Brown) practically worships Bellamy and views him as a mentor, and will miss him when he goes off to serve an internship.
The film's gentle introductory sequence lulls us into a sense of complacency. As a result, we are totally unprepared for the jolt we receive when the action cuts to a prison escapee (Chester Morris) traveling down a country road with his moll (Ann Dvorak), his pals (which include Milburn Stone) and a warden who's along as a hostage. The car comes to a sudden stop after they cross a state line. Morris orders the warden out and then shoots him point blank. Now that's vicious!
From here we see Morris, Dvorak and their cronies drive to a lakefront area where they will meet a boat to get away after it's dark. While waiting to be picked up, they decide to take over a home near the lake. And you guessed it, the home is owned by Bellamy, a place he shares with his beautiful wife (Rose Stradner) and their precocious son (Scotty Beckett).
It just so happens that Dr. Shelby and his wife will be entertaining dinner guests. So there's a houseful of people when Morris and Dvorak barge in with their gang and begin aiming their weapons at innocent people. There is a sense of immediate danger and tension. Morris and Dvorak now control everything that occurs inside the professor's home, and everyone must put on an act when the professor's star pupil stops by on his way out of town. The ruse is repeated again later when cops come by to check on things.
There's another unexpected killing scene, and we watch the various subplots play out in the different rooms upstairs and downstairs. As part of the writers' comment on social class, we even see the maids locked in the basement, finding a way out. Ultimately, what takes place is a series of smaller dramas amongst the guests which will occasionally pit the criminals against their hostages in unexpected ways.
The story heads into unique territory with the 'treatment' that Bellamy performs on Morris, while being held captive. He knows Morris is haunted by the past, and he starts to explain in psychiatric terms how Morris' brain is constructed and how parts of his brain are at war with each other. To be honest, I expected some of the mental doctoring to be a bit phony, with some naive Freudian concepts lobbed at viewers, but actually the dialogue was most restrained and logical.
Part of the fun is watching Morris play his villain as a guy with a huge vulnerable spot which Bellamy is able to penetrate by analyzing a surreal dream that plagues Morris every time he tries to get some shuteye.
I especially thought Charles Vidor's direction was superb in the presentation of Morris' troubling recurring nightmare, which employs some imaginative special effects. And later when the dream is fully decoded and we see the first man Morris killed as a kid, we get another jolt.
This is a great motion picture that leaves the audience with some profound realizations. I can only imagine what it was like for moviegoers in 1939 who expected a routine humdrum Hollywood programmer, and instead were given a smart think piece in the form of cinematic entertainment.