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Too much of everything

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Wow! Why is this wonderful thriller not better known? It's like a smarter, wittier version of GASLIGHT with the dashing, would-be boyfriend of the preyed-upon heroine promoted to the leading role. Robert Cummings plays the lovestruck, independently-wealthy amateur sleuth who figures out oily Don Ameche is trying to drive wealthy wife Claudette Colbert nuts in order to seize her fortune. Now all he has to do is prove it. Cummings' character is quick-thinking and resourceful, and also very funny. This noirish shocker boasts great acting; a fine screenplay; and one cool, inventive scene after another. Don't miss it.

Having been preceded by some other more-notable Gothic melodramas such as "Suspicion" (1941) and "Gaslight" (1944), this "woman-in-danger movie" is undeniably derivative but certainly not without merit. Its well-developed plot about an elaborate conspiracy starts off brightly and remains thoroughly absorbing right up to its well-staged conclusion. Adultery, insanity and betrayal are some of its main themes and with much of the action taking place in the heavily-shadowed interiors of an old mansion, the atmosphere is often rather creepy.Wealthy New York socialite Alison Courtland (Claudette Colbert) wakes up on the night train to Boston with no memory of how she got there and after recovering from her hysterical state, arrangements are made for her to return to her home where her husband Richard (Don Ameche) has already reported her disappearance to the police. On the flight home, Alison travels with Bruce Elcott (Robert Cummings) who's a friend of one of her old school friends that she met at the airport. Bruce is strongly attracted to Alison and she enjoys his company and invites him to visit her mansion in Sutton Place.Following Alison's latest disappearance and her penchant for sleepwalking, Richard arranges for her to see a psychiatrist called Dr Rhinehart and despite her initial reluctance, Alison agrees to co-operate when her husband convinces her that, before going on her train journey, she'd shot him in the arm whilst sleepwalking. The man who presents himself as Dr Rhinehart (Ralph Morgan) wears thick horn-rimmed glasses and has a threatening manner which leaves Alison feeling intimidated. Later, when it becomes clear that the man Alison had seen was an impostor, it seems possible to the other members of the household that she might have simply imagined the whole episode.When Richard says that he's unable to go to a party that he and Alison had planned to go to, Bruce takes her instead to the wedding of his good friend and "honorary brother" Jimmy Lin (Keye Luke). On returning home, Alison freaks out when she sees the phony psychiatrist again but once more, she's the only person who sees him. Bruce doesn't believe that Alison's seeing things and later that night returns to her home where he sees her balancing precariously on a balcony and by shining a light in her face, prevents her from falling. This incident makes Bruce very suspicious and his subsequent investigations uncover the existence of a conspiracy involving Richard, the phony psychiatrist (who's actually a photographer called Charles Vernay) and a young woman called Daphne (Hazel Brooks).Don Ameche is tremendously smooth and smarmy as the adulterous architect Richard who uses a variety of means (including drugs and hypnosis) to try to get his wife to either commit suicide or be certified insane so that he can inherit her fortune and marry his mistress (Daphne). Daphne's greed is exemplified when she says of Alison "I want what she's got. I want all of it. I want her house, her name, her man and I want them now, tonight". Claudette Colbert by contrast, makes Alison a very sincere victim who's understandably confused and alarmed by much of what takes place but also, interestingly, shows a more natural and easy-going side when she enjoys her time at the Chinatown wedding with Bruce.Robert Cummings is light-hearted, lively and amusing as the charming Bruce and Ralph Morgan and Hazel Brooks both do well in their important supporting roles."Sleep, My Love" is beautifully photographed with some great expressionistic compositions, off-kilter camera angles and an extremely high staircase that all contribute strongly to the rather disconcerting atmosphere of this very enjoyable movie.

In maybe the only time he was a villain on screen Don Ameche uses his dapper charm against type playing a coldblooded man who is trying to drive his very rich wife Claudette Colbert out of her mind. Ameche has been thoroughly seduced by a sultry Hazel Brooks otherwise he'd probably stay a rich kept husband, it's Colbert who has all the bucks in the family.As part of his plan he has George Coulouris who took a patent out on sinister and who is a photographer in real life going in the guise of a psychiatrist. That and some psychotropic drugs administered and a little amnesia have Colbert thinking she is indeed ready for the rubber room.Sleep My Love is a combination of Gaslight and Dial M For Murder and the comparisons are obvious since Bob Cummings plays the same kind of role in both films, the sympathetic friend who gives the heroine a shoulder to cry on. He's a bit more proactive in this film than in the Hitchcock classic as he figures out slowly that Colbert is not just imagining things.Keye Luke has a role of companion 'brother' to Cummings. In fact Colbert and Cummings attend his wedding during the film. What was nice here was that his role was stereotypical in no way. Luke was not constantly make a mess that Charlie Chan would have to straighten out.As much as the stars give good performances, you will remember Hazel Brooks from this film more than anyone. How a sexy woman like that never had a major career one can only wonder.Arise My Love was a United Artists release and produced by one of the founding mothers of the studio Mary Pickford. A role she might well have played in the later stages of her career. And Hitchcock himself couldn't have done better with the suspense.

This 1948 b&w movie provides 90 minutes of diversion, but it contributes little to Douglas Sirk's reputation for stylish dramas capable of interpretation on many levels. Claudette Colbert plays a woman whose husband, Don Ameche, is trying to drive her insane by drugging her at night, and causing her to act irrationally. In the opening scene, she wakes up to find herself on a train, without knowing how she got there. Though the film has noirish touches, including some staircase shots with strong shadows, this is more a Hitchcockian thriller than a film-noir. Indeed, there is quite a mix of styles and characterisations (or caricatures in some cases). Romantic lead, Robert Cummings, and Rita Johnson as a ditzy friend, engage in banter, and could have stepped out of a Thin Man film. But perhaps the most unexpected and pleasing sequence is a Chinese wedding, to which Cummings takes Colbert, and which made me wonder whether Charlie Chan wasn't going to appear and close the case!