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Cause for Alarm!
A bedridden and gravely ill man believes his wife and doctor are conspiring to kill him, and outlines his suspicions in a letter.
Release : | 1951 |
Rating : | 6.4 |
Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction, |
Cast : | Loretta Young Barry Sullivan Bruce Cowling Margalo Gillmore Brad Morrow |
Genre : | Drama Thriller Crime |
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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Loretta Young was wonderful whenever she appeared on screen, and "Cause for Alarm!" is just another example of her appeal and versatility. George Jones (Barry Sullivan) is an invalid confined to bed who believes that his wife Ellen (Young) is trying to kill him. George writes a letter to the police describing his suspicions, and Ellen spends most of the film trying to retrieve the letter. Although that sounds pretty innocuous, this film is very suspenseful and will keep your attention throughout. There's a very unexpected twist ending that no one can anticipate.Sullivan understandably seems pretty upset and crazy all the time, and Young is at her radiant (and neurotic) best. Also appearing are Bruce Cowling as Sullivan's doctor (who makes house calls!) and Irving Bacon as a talkative letter carrier. Although the plot sounds trite on the surface, it's a wonderfully suspenseful movie whose ending is brilliant and unexpected. Vintage early 1950s atmosphere is also a big plus. Well worth your time.
I've read the other reviews here and they're all completely correct: Cause For Alarm Exclamation Point is corny, contrived, nonsensical and an utter failure as an attempt at a film noir. It is also hilarious.Housewife Loretta Young is taking care of her husband George who is bedridden with a heart condition. He is SO bedridden that the very act of getting out of his bed- even to take a few steps to look out bedroom window- is worthy of comment and concern by neighbors and friends. His other problem? He's clinically insane and paranoid delusional- so much so that he thinks his wife & doctor are working together to try to kill him so they can make off with his insurance money and live together happily ever after. The entire story takes place in one day, in almost real-time, as George writes a letter to the district attorney fingering his wife and doctor should any tragedy ever befall him. Faithful, loving wife Ellen (Loretta Young) mails said letter unaware of its contents and that's where the real fun begins. George tells her what he wrote and then conveniently dies of his magical mystery heart disease, leaving Ellen in frantic pursuit of the incriminating letter. The obstacles she encounters as she tries to get the letter back (nosy neighbors, a meddling Aunt, a neighborhood kid who thinks he's a cowboy) are nothing compared to the ultimate bureaucratic nightmare of suburbia: the post office.Cause For Alarm! is unintentionally hilarious, almost an "Airplane!" take on film noir movies (The Postman Always Whines Twice) and will have you laughing yourself silly at the unbelievable circumstances that have Loretta Young changing clothes and putting on makeup with her dead husband five feet away so she can look presentable in front of the Postmaster. If you're looking for serious, gripping film noir you should look elsewhere, but if you're looking to laugh at a movie that doesn't seem to realize how absurd it is check out this little gem.And don't forget to put proper postage on all your outgoing mail.GRADE: B+
CAUSE FOR ALARM comes across as a TV programmer type of film that has all the earmarks of something made for television in the '50s--despite the fact that it was a theatrical release. Everything about it looks artificial, including the pristine neighborhood. You expect Ozzie and Harriet to appear any moment.The drama itself is well played by LORETTA YOUNG and her paranoid hubby, BARRY SULLIVAN, who concocts a way to get her accused of killing him with the help of her doctor friend, of whom he is jealous. After his accidental death, every step Young takes is only going to make her look more guilty. Silliest of all is her scene with a by-the-book postman who won't return the letter to her after she chases him across town to catch up with him. The postman is played in his usual goofy manner by IRVING BACON.But to give credit where it's due, Loretta handles the panicky situation with a convincing lack of poise while making all the missteps that almost land her in serious trouble with the law. The contrived ending gives the story a nice twist.No more than a B-film, it owes a great deal to Young for making the impossible situations seem reasonable enough.
I've never cared for Loretta Young but I really LOVE this movie though I suspect for all the wrong reasons.Fans of film noir may go for the voice-over narration of a hard-boiled private eye, but me, I'm a sucker for a film that features the breathless, panicky narration of a woman in distress (like Doris Day in the 1956 film, "Julie"). Loretta Young narrates "Cause for Alarm!" and the exclamation point in title is no blunder. The film starts out at fever pitch and never lets up to rather hilarious effect.Young plays a perfect 50s housewife who endures one exceptionally crappy, hot summer day. Young is married to Barry Sullivan, a terminally ill, verbally abusive husband who is also suffering from paranoid delusions (he wasn't always that way, a brief flashback shows how they met "cute" when he was just a creepily slimy suitor heavy on charm and low on friendship loyalty). Young's general twitchiness gives way to full out hysteria when, in rather rapid order, her unstable hubby pulls a gun on her and accuses her of conspiring with the doctor (Sullivan's former friend whom he stole Young away from) to kill him. What's more, Sullivan has had her unwittingly mail an incriminating letter to the D.A. detailing his allegations. When he inconveniently (or conveniently, after all, he was going to shoot her) drops dead in a way that will only serve to seal her doom, Young spends the rest of the film tying herself into knots trying to keep his death a secret and get that letter back.It's clear that all of this is supposed to be dramatic as hell, but Young's performance is so earnest and her missteps so consistent, that it plays like a Carol Burnett skit. It's hilarious and wildly enjoyable even if you do prefer to take it seriously.Adding to the comedy is the fact that the nastiness of the circumstances and Sullivan's bullying cruelty contrasts so sharply with the nostalgically artificial-looking neighborhood they live in (favored by TV shows like "Father Knows Best" and "The Donna Reed Show"). Watching Young and Sullivan spar is like watching a Rod Serling version of those old Folger coffee commercials where the husband's criticism of his wife's coffee always struck me as masking a deeper hostility.Peppered throughout are some great bit parts like Sullivan's nosy aunt Clara ( "A man wrapped up himself makes a very small package!"), and my favorite, a really cute neighbor child (cute because he is so odd and endearingly natural on camera) who calls himself Hoppy. He is such a doll and a welcome relief from the kind of Disney Channel androids that pass for child actors today.To say that I find it impossible to take the film seriously is not to say it isn't good. No, in fact it's rather excellent. Even as you're giggling over Young's clumsy lies to the postman, her neat as a pin kitchen, and high-strung hand-wringing, you can't help but root for her. I've seen it many times and never tire of watching it. Of course I'm laughing my head off all the while, but a film that entertains is a film that entertains, right?