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.
Acting
Audrey Totter's skeptical warmth cracks the ice queen mold
Cinematography
Asylum corridors that feel like they're closing in
Direction
Bernhardt's surgical precision with flashback reveals
Director
Curtis Bernhardt
Robert Taylor
Steven Kenet
Audrey Totter
Dr. Ann Lorrison
Herbert Marshall
Willard I. Whitcombe
Dorothy Patrick
Helen Kenet
H.B. Warner
Mr. Slocum
Warner Anderson
r. George Poward
Moroni Olsen
Dr. Philip Dunlap
John Ridgely
Assistant District Attorney David Wallace (as John Ridgeley)
Morris Ankrum
Dr. Stanley Griffin
Elisabeth Risdon
Mrs. Kenet
Vince Barnett
Henry Cronner
Jonathan Hale
Emory Garrison
Charles Arnt
Sidney X. Hackle
Robert Hyatt
Richard Kenet (as Bobby Hyatt)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Robert Taylor hated playing weak, damaged men and fought the studio; his discomfort arguably fuels Kenet's raw desperation.
Released as WWII veterans flooded home with 'shell shock' and memory disorders, the film weaponized contemporary medical anxiety for suspense.
US
