Title: Sudden Fear
Stars: Joan Crawford, Gloria Grahme, Jack Palance, and Jack Palance's cheekbones
Genre: Film Noir
Synopsis: Joan Crawford stars as a wealthy playwright who begins the movie by firing Jack Palance from her latest play. A chance meeting between the two on the train to San Francisco (where Crawford's character lives and owns 2 houses) results in marriage. But is Jack Palance to be trusted? Does he actully love Joan Crawford or he scheming with former flame Gloria Grahme to bump off Joan Crawford and inherit his wife's family fortune?
Why It is So Good: Film noir is one of my favorite genres, so I am always willing to give one a try. I love trying to figure out the plot and appreciate the economicalness of the plot. In most film noir, there are no sideplots or subplots that go nowhere or have no impact on the main plot. Most seems to follow the Chekov adage that a gun shown in the first act will go off in the third act. As a result, most film noir movies are short, running between 90 and 110 minutes; I think that longest one I have seen was about 2 hours. And Sudden Fear is no different, the plot runs along at a good clip and nothing is introduced that is not used at a later point. Also, Joan Crawford is on the most proactive potential victims in the genre. Furthermore, like any good film noir, Sudden Fear makes you question the morality of all the characters on the screen.
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