Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

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

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A Betty E. Box Independent Production for Carillon Films, released in the U.K. through G.F.D. (25 December 1950), in Australia through B.E.F. (18 September 1952), in the U.S.A. through Columbia (August 1952). Copyright in the U.S.A. by General Film Distributors, Ltd., on 21 November 1950. New York opening at the Park Avenue: 12 November 1951. Registered: November 1950. "A" certificate. 8,647 feet. 96 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An ex-intelligence officer takes a job as a live-in assistant to a butterfly collector in the country, but the apparently serene household is not as peaceful as it seems on the surface.NOTES: Real locations were expertly utilized in London, Newcastle, and large areas of Northern England, including the Lakes District. COMMENT: A first-rate mystery thriller that builds suspense slowly and surely and then comes to one of the most stunning chase climaxes ever filmed, The Clouded Yellow boasts a really outstanding cast of talented players. Be sure to see only the full 96 minute version, not the version screened on American TV which has been cut down to 85 minutes. The loss of 11 minutes may not seem that much in theory, particularly as all the action material remains intact but without that necessary exposition which skillfully attracts audience sympathy to the lead characters, all the thrills seem somewhat empty and non-involving. Assisted by the expert cinematography of Geoffrey Unsworth, director Ralph Thomas has made absolutely brilliant use of a whole gamut of real locations. Howard gives one of his most vigorous performances as the man on the run, while the lovely Jean Simmons superbly conveys the troubled innocence of the engaging yet puzzling heroine.

If The Clouded Yellow had been made by Alfred Hitchcock, it would be hailed as one of the great classic thrillers. As it is, Betty E. Box produced the film, and no one has remembered it. I found it just as enjoyable as a Master of Suspense movie, and in fact, better than most of his films.Trevor Howard, practically unrecognizable in his youth and mustache, plays a retired Secret Service agent who takes a quiet job in the country categorizing butterflies. While his employers and landlords seem nice enough, their niece Jean Simmons seems a little off—and not just because of her ridiculous bangs. She forgets things and has mysterious amnesia of key memories from her childhood, or so she says.Because of his previous employment, Trevor has a naturally curious mind, so he can't help but notice that Jean's aunt isn't as fond of her niece as she claims, and the local handyman is paying an unhealthy amount of attention towards his married employer. As in every great Hitchcock, when the chips fall down, suspicion is thrown in every direction! For a very entertaining, classic thriller, rent The Clouded Yellow on a foggy afternoon.

I like the idea of David Somers being fired from his job and forced to register with an employment agency to secure a new job cataloguing butterflies. It shows how a career person can fall from grace and end up following the agency route. What makes this stand out is that even though Somers has friends he can speak to about his unemployment, even his friend, Kenneth More, is spying on him and reporting back to HQ. It shows that you can't trust anyone because whoever you speak to will either block your pathway, or speak to people who can block your pathway. The fact that Somers ends up in a dull job is just a macguffin because it puts him in contact with Jean Simmons whom he goes on the run with because she is accused of a murder.

Sort of paint-by-numbers Hitchcock. But still, it probably comes closer to the style of the master than any other pretender with the exception of "Niagara".Hitch always liked a story with some odd eccentricities to the plot. This story has a butterfly collector, a taxidermist, and some shady Chinese Liverpudlians.But you can tell it's not Hitch easily enough. I believe it's the pacing, which never reaches a nail-biting pitch of intensity -- more like nail-drumming. I hope someone more astute than I will analyse precisely what marks this film as ultimately un-Hitchcock.The film's ending is very abrupt and more than a little unsatisfying, with the loose ends being tied up in a slip knot.An important element in many a great Hitchcock film is the pursuit sequence through imaginative locations. At least we are not disappointed in that respect. Besides Liverpool, our hero and heroine are hunted through night-time Newcastle which is made to resemble Vienna in an earlier Trevor Howard film, "The Third Man". Some of the best chase scenes take place among the hills, lakes, and waterfalls of the English Switzerland -- the Lake District, at that time in Cumberland (hence the name of the bus line) and Westmorland.Our beautiful English Swiss Miss, Jean Simmons, seems to be more voluptuous here than she would be later in her career, but perhaps I'm mistaken.The film's mysterious title refers to a variety of butterfly found in a meadow near the collector's house.