After being found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, a severely catatonic woman tells a doctor the complex story of how she wound up there.
Acting
Crawford's eyes alone deserve their own billing
Cinematography
Shadows that swallow rooms whole
Direction
Flashback structure that disorients perfectly
Director
Curtis Bernhardt
Joan Crawford
Louise Howell
Van Heflin
David Sutton
Raymond Massey
Dean Graham
Geraldine Brooks
Carol Graham
Stanley Ridges
Dr. Harvey Willard
John Ridgely
Harker
Moroni Olsen
Dr. Ames
Peter Miles
Wynn Graham (as Gerald Perreau)
Erskine Sanford
Dr. Max Sherman
Lisa Golm
Elsie
Douglas Kennedy
Asst. District Attorney
Monte Blue
Norris
Don McGuire
Dr. Craig
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Crawford insisted on real psychiatric patients as extras and studied at Camarillo State Hospital for the role.
The film's flashback structure influenced later psychological thrillers, though critics then dismissed it as 'women's picture' hysteria.
US
