Review of Night Must Fall (1937) by Anna L — 24 Mar 2012

I saw this film on television when I was very young and its ideas, mood and performances left a profound impact on me. I immediately forgot the title, and for nearly a decade I looked high and low for it; I finally found it and enjoyed revisiting its thick tension and the incredible devilish execution of Robert Montgomery's performance.

This is a prelude to the Hitchcockian thriller, a tale of evil penetration in the happy home. Richard Thorpe, transferring the play to the screen for the first time here, is careful not to undo the careful theatrical relations sprinkled throughout the script; yet his execution is decidedly cinematic, making this a hybrid art and spectacular entertainment.