Save your money for something good and enjoyable

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I was less pleased with this one than with his earlier "Fly by Night" of 1942, the script here is not very convincing, and the tempo is too slow, sometimes even dead slow. Ella Raines makes a good performance, and so does Thomas Gomez as the police inspector, while Franchot Tone is terrible. The film makes an effort at trying to make his character psychologically credible but fails utterly. There are many other flaws in the script. The trial is a farce, and the other policemen are as far from being credible as policemen as they can get - such policemen would never have been accepted in the force. But there are some excellent nightclub scenes, and the maze of an impossible intrigue brings us into some eccentric expressionism, but it is ultimately Ella Raines who saves the picture.

Film noir directed by Robert Siodmak from a story by Cornell Woolrich about a woman (Ella Raines) trying to clear the name of her boss (Alan Curtis), who is accused of murdering his wife. She's in love with the guy, of course, and will risk her own life to save his. Ella Raines is lovely and does a fine job. Alan Curtis has a voice made for film noir dialogue. Every line where he uses Raines' character's nickname "Kansas" is gold. Franchot Tone, Thomas Gomez, Regis Toomey, and Elisha Cook, Jr. are all good.It's a film with a lot of nice little almost Hitchcockian touches, such as the woman coughing at the trial as the verdict is read or the darkly comic fate of a frightened bartender. Then there's the film's most talked-about scene, the drum solo where Elisha Cook, Jr. gets all worked up over Raines in her sexy undercover outfit. Visually, it's got a very attractive noir style to it. Also the way Siodmak incorporates music is a big plus. The only major negative is that the killer is obvious from early on before he even appears on screen so there's not a great deal of suspense to be had there. But it's still intriguing to watch the buildup to him being caught. Definitely worth a look for noir fans.

This was the third of fourteen novels/short stories by Cornell Woolrich to be adapted for the screen in the nineteen forties. There had been one in 1929, one in 1934 and one in 1938 but the floodgates opened in the forties and though adaptations continued through subsequent decades it was the forties that were the most fruitful. The original novel, published in 1942, had another claim to fame inasmuch as it was the first time the pseudonym William Irish appeared in print - the publishers felt that the prolific Woolrich had published so many novels so quickly under that name - the name on his birth certificate read: Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich - that there was a danger of the public becoming sated, accordingly they suggested a new name might be in order and William Irish was the result. Woolrich/Irish quickly developed his own 'voice' and genre, psychological thriller-cum-terror and just a handful of forties titles adapted for the screen - The Leopard Man, Deadline At Dawn, Black Angel,Fear In The Night, I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes, Night Has A Thousand Eyes - illustrate this although arguably the finest adaptation, The Window, had a somewhat innocuous title. Phantom Lady is slightly different to the novel though the premise remains the same; following a quarrel with his wife the protagonist meets a woman in a bar and invites her to spend the evening with him (he already has two tickets to a popular show, one meant for his wife) and she agrees with the proviso that they do not exchange names,, phone numbers, or indeed any scrap of personal information. Returning home he finds his wife has been strangled with one of his own neckties and he, with no real alibi, is the only suspect. Tried and convicted his only chance to escape the chair is for someone to locate the phantom lady, whose only distinguishing feature is a singular hat, so that we are now in a race- against-the-clock scenario which, given the date, 1944, will, we know, inevitably resolve itself happily. Director Robert Siodmak created a fine, atmospheric mood, drawing liberally on the expressionistic roots of his native Germany, whilst the cast comprised some of the names familiar to buffs of forties movies, Andrew Tombes, Thomas Gomez, Elisha Cooke, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis and top-billed Franchot Tone, cast against type. Certainly watchable and a reasonable addition to the 'noir' gallery.

"Phantom Lady" is notable for having provided legendary film noir director Robert Siodmak with his first American success. Its story, which was adapted from a Cornell Woolrich novel, involves an innocent man who's wrongly accused of murdering his wife and his loyal secretary who embarks on a race against time to prove his innocence. This tale of murder, bribery and betrayal features some extraordinary scenes and the action (which is set in New York City) takes place in locations which often look dark and threatening.After having quarrelled with his wife on the evening of their wedding anniversary, despondent civil engineer Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) consoles himself with a drink at a local bar and starts to reflect on the fact that he has a couple of tickets for a Broadway show. On the spur of the moment, he asks a lady sitting next to him if she'd like to accompany him to the show and she agrees subject to the condition that they don't disclose or discuss any personal information. The show is eventful because, not only does the drummer in the orchestra try to flirt with Scott's mystery lady but also one of the stars of the show, Estela Monteiro (Aurora Miranda) shows her extreme annoyance when she realises that the lady with Scott is wearing a hat identical to her own. At the end of the evening, Scott and his companion part company and he goes home.When Scott arrives at his apartment, he finds three detectives there and is informed that his wife has been strangled to death with one of his ties. He immediately becomes the prime suspect and when his alibi doesn't stand up, he's charged and subsequently found guilty of murder.Scott's devoted secretary, Carol "Kansas" Richman (Ella Raines) is secretly in love with him and utterly convinced that he wouldn't be capable of murder and so sets out to find the real killer before Scott's executed. On the night of the murder a bartender, a cab driver and Estela Monteiro had all seen Scott but they all denied seeing a lady with him. Carol uses an unorthodox method to try to persuade the bartender to change his testimony but he's accidentally killed when he gets run down by a car. To her surprise, Police Inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez) who'd been involved in Scott's case also comes to the conclusion that Scott is innocent and unofficially assists with her investigation.Carol subsequently discovers that the orchestra drummer at the theatre had been bribed to say that no-one was with Scott on the night of the murder and when she eventually discovers the identity of Scott's mysterious woman it unfortunately doesn't provide the simple solution to the case that she'd hoped for or expected.Ella Raines' performance is astonishingly good because of the way that she changes her demeanour so successfully in a variety of different situations. She goes from being convincing as a typical secretary to showing the psychological strength needed to totally unnerve the bartender who'd perjured himself and then flaunts herself outrageously in a scene where she tries to seduce the drummer Cliff Milburn (Elisha Cook Jr.).At one juncture of the movie, Cliff takes Carol to a jam session where he launches into an improvised drum solo which is so sexually charged and intense that it goes well beyond the level of mere innuendo and the way that Carol responds is equally strong and provocative. This scene is highly entertaining and provides a marvellous example of the kind of innovation and originality that filmmakers employed to express themselves powerfully in times when censorship standards made their job more difficult."Phantom Lady" is well directed and the scenes in which low-key lighting is used provide a perfect backdrop for the type of action on show as well as contributing strongly to the ominous atmosphere of the piece.