I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

You won't be disappointed!

I'll tell you why so serious

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This movie provides a fascinating insight into the way movies 'borrow' from one another and how subtly they avoid charges of both incest and plagiarism. This one kicks off with a title that is pure Cornell Woolllrich/William Irish and negates it immediately by bearing no trace of anyone doing any such thing - although it does tip its had by having a major character named Cornell. The main coincidence is having the detective (Laird Cregar) leading the hunt for the murdered of Vicki Lynn (Carol Landis) being in love with her and ultimately revealed to have an apartment full of photos and mementos of her. Three years later detective Dana Andrews fell in love with a dead girl, Laura, whilst assigned to find her killer but having checked the similarities let's look at the differences. Andrews had never heard of Laura (Gene Tierney) until he was assigned to the case whereas Cornell not only knew Vicki in life but turned out to be the killer plus we met Vicki some time before she was killed whereas Laura is dead (so we think) for about the first five or six reels before turning up alive. On the other hand both films were produced by Fox who, for good measure, remade IWUS in the fifties as Vicki. All that to one side this is a stylish noir with Victor Mature equalling the performances he gave in Cry Of The City and Kiss of Death and Betty Grable showing she could handle a straight acting role (wisely they cut the scene where she sings Bobby Troup's 'Daddy' but the good news is it's available as an 'extra' on the DVD.

Considering its recognised status as one of the very earliest film noirs, it's remarkable how many characteristics of the classic style are featured in "I Wake Up Screaming" (aka "Hot Spot"). Themes including sexual obsession, betrayal and entrapment are very prominent and its big city setting, numerous flashbacks and witty dialogue are all used to great effect. A portrait of a beautiful woman is a standard noir motif which was due to become more frequently used in later years and the expressionistic cinematography in this movie is both aesthetically pleasing and incredibly effective in establishing the mood of the piece.Well known New York City sports promoter Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) is at a restaurant one night with actor Robin Ray (Alan Mowbray) and gossip columnist Larry Evans (Allyn Joslyn) who are both very impressed with good-looking waitress, Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis). Much to the amusement of his friends, Frankie claims that he could successfully promote Vicky and make her a star and soon starts to introduce her to some influential people. Vicky subsequently achieves some success as a model and one day announces to a surprised Frankie that she's had a screen test and is leaving for Hollywood without him. Shortly after this act of betrayal, Vicky is found dead and Frankie becomes the prime suspect.Frankie is subjected to some aggressive questioning by a group of detectives in an interrogation room and one of them, Detective Inspector Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar), is especially menacing. He has a reputation for never losing a case and openly threatens Frankie with the electric chair (aka the hot spot). Due to a lack of hard evidence, Frankie is eventually released but although Vicky's sister Jill (Betty Grable), Frankie's friends (Ray and Evans) and a switchboard operator at Vicky's apartment house, Harry Williams (Elisha Cook Jr.) are all considered as suspects at various points in the investigation, Cornell continues to pursue Frankie relentlessly.Jill and Frankie fall in love and soon realise that the only way they'll be able to have any future together will be if they can find the real killer. When the culprit is caught, however, further interesting revelations follow.This movie is a visual treat with a whole series of clever compositions of light and shadow being used to enhance the atmosphere and two sequences are particularly impressive. Initially, the interrogation room which is bathed in darkness with the intense spotlight being pointed directly in Frankie's face emphasises how trapped this innocent man is and later, on the staircase in Vicky's apartment building, when he stands covered in a huge grid of shadow, it reinforces his status as a person who's been framed.Ed Cornell is the character that makes the strongest impression in this movie as not only is he physically imposing but also, with his soft voice and creepy behaviour, everything he does seems so calculated and sinister. His habit of turning up in people's rooms unexpectedly is particularly disconcerting and he also puts psychological pressure on certain suspects by trying to get into their heads. Laird Cregar is ideally cast as Cornell and provides the film's standout performance. Victor Mature and Betty Grable also excel in their roles."I Wake Up Screaming" with its terrific pace, great one-liners and some neat twists, is extremely entertaining and a superb example of early noir.

It was the dynamic title that drove me to this oddity. Then there was also the cast, Betty Grable in a noir drama? She's very pleasing in her early strait role (was that magnificent blond hair truly real?) Victor Mature demonstrates his increasingly nervous discomfort throughout the progress of this story via his iconic facial expressions, belying his characters over-confident exterior. The cause of this discomfort comes in the form of a creepy Laid Cregar, a strange detective who is determined to nail Mature for a serious crime. An interesting scene has him wake to the sense of an ominous presence in his apartment that would have had me screaming too - I can't too readily recall another actor that could signal fear, with just one instant facial expression.Carole Landis, who tragically took her own life at only 29, following a scandalous affair with married philanderer Rex Harrison, is OK in the part of Grable's sister. With so many others in the support cast also being noteworthy, this just had to be seen.The Director; Bruce Humberstone, whom I had associated more with comedies, musicals, and outdoor actioners (Tazan and westerns) seems to be in his element with this fast moving crime story by prolific writer; Steve Fisher ("Lady in the Lake" '46) Good one liners come rapidly and often.It gets off to a cracking opening with striking sets by multi award winning Thomas Little; "Grapes of Wrath" '40 ~ "Razors Edge" '46 ~ Viva Zapata" '52. With Art Direction by two up and coming directors, Richard Day, and Nathan Juran. Another veteran, Director of Photography; Edward Cronjager, "Roberta" '35 ~ "House by the River" '50 ~ "Relentless" '48 ~ "Beneath the 12 mile Reef" '53, all combine to assure this film a stylish look and feel.It may not always work as well as you might like, but it keeps you watching and guessing to the end. The biggest draw back for me was the musical direction by English born Cyril J. Mockridge. He must have been given only a few days to prepare a score and I don't think he wrote a note of original music. Instead, he uses music tracks from the library of popular standards. The best of these is Alfred Newman's "Street Scene" put to good use under the opening credits. Another is Harold Arlen's immortal "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Both these melodies keep popping up at the most unnecessary moments during the story, so much so, that by the time the end title arrives you may well wake up screaming too...Not great, but still good entertainment.

When the model Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis) is found murdered in her apartment in New York, the promoter of sports Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) becomes the prime suspect of Inspector Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar) and is brought to the precinct for interrogatory. Christopher discloses how he promoted the career of Vicky when she was a waitress after making a bet with his friends Robin Ray (Alan Mowbray) and Larry Evans (Allyn Joslyn). After reaching the stardom, Vicky tells Christopher that she would leave him to go to Hollywood and on the next day, she was killed. Ed Cornell insists that Christopher is the killer and frames him, and Christopher can only have the support of Vicky's sister, Jill Lynn (Betty Grable), who has fallen in love with him. Who Killed Vicki? "I Wake Up Screaming" is a film-noir with a story of unrequited love and obsession and "Over the Rainbow" as the music theme (after "The Wizard of Oz" of two years before). Laird Cregar is scary in the role of Inspector Ed Cornell and the final twist surprises and is well resolved. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Quem Matou Vicki?" ("Who Killed Vicki")