Obsession (1949)

Waste of time

Fresh and Exciting

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

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

"You've heard of the last straw, Bill? Well you're it."So sums up the plot of the chilling thriller The Hidden Room. Robert Newton's wife, Sally Gray, has been repeatedly unfaithful. Bobbie can't take it anymore, and he's vowed to kill the next of her lovers. Phil Brown just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.The Hidden Room was ahead of its time, no doubt inspiring stories like Sleuth and Secrets in Their Eyes. It's not your normal revenge story of the 1940s; it's very creepy. Robert Newton was an easy casting choice for the frustrated villain, but I'm sure James Mason, Herbert Marshall, and Claude Rains were envious that they weren't chosen instead, as they each could have played the part.My biggest criticism of the film is its untapped potential. When Scotland Yard gets involved in the story, the cleverness of writer Alec Coppel dwindles. There could have been many more cat-and-mouse games, or gotchas for the audience, all of which would have fit in with the opening tone of the film. It doesn't make any sense that Scotland Yard even becomes involved in the first place, let alone the other steps that are taken. Still, if you like creepy stories or revenge schemes that involve mental torture, you'll definitely want to check out The Hidden Room.

I wouldn't call this suspense movie a masterpiece but it's well written and acted. And the musical score is, improbably, by Nino Rota. I found it a little claustrophobic and very dark, although the banter is light-hearted enough, even as Robert Newton plots the murder of his wife, Sally Gray's, most recent lover and a cute little shaggy dog runs around making a general nuisance of himself.If it doesn't remind you of Hitchcock's (or Knott's) "Dial M For Murder," it can only be because you haven't seen "Dial M For Murder." Newton is a suave and unflappable London psychiatrist. He's tired of his wife's serial philandering, so he kidnaps the latest of them, the American Phil Brown, and chains him up in a nearby garage. The idea is to keep good old Phil alive until his disappearance more or less blows over, then kill him, dissolve his body in acid, and let the whole business swirl down the drain.The cursed dog, in a playful mood, discovers the arrangement and now Newton must dispose of the dog in the same way. It may have been Newton's only sound idea.The disappearance of a foreign nobody, who may have taken off for foreign climes as far as anyone knows, and a dog that's run away. No need for Scotland Yard to get involved, let alone to start homing in on Newton. Yet the Yard does, in the person of the diminutive and chipper Naunton Wayne. Even during his first visit to the Newton house, he insinuates that Newton is somehow involved.Newton plays the murderer manque absolutely straight, his diction precise, his demeanor impeccable and blameless. Except for one lapse, an Americanism he's picked up from his prisoner chained in the garage -- "Thanks, Pal." He only says it once but it's the wrong time and place. The dialog adds some necessary sparkle to the rather grim story and bleak prospect that looms over the film.The weakest performance, which isn't terrible by any means, is Phil Brown's, the Yank. He's too cheerful and willfully snide with his captor, knowing he's to be killed. I mean, why insult the guy who's going to murder you? As the wife, Sally Gray hasn't much to do but look pretty, wear the revolting, long "new look" dresses of the period. My God, they were ugly. She's involved in a finely written, ironic ending. The dog, given a choice, runs to Phil Brown and ignores her calls. And the ending isn't tragic. Nobody dies. Newton is only imprisoned and the authorities will doubtless make him the chief librarian.

Since I first saw Obsession 30 years ago it's remained one of my favourite post War British thrillers – although directed by and starring Americans it's nowhere near noir but a very British take on a calculated attempt at a perfect murder. The idea shown is almost as foolproof and institutionally British as dismembered body parts in suitcases checked into railway station lockers. Some cogent concise acting, scripting, production and black & white photography all go to make an engrossing 93 minutes UK TV running time.Erudite doctor Robert Newton plays a husband who gets terminally jealous of his philandering wife Sally Gray and decides to bump off her current lover Phil Brown in an ingenious and supposedly undetectable manner. Bomb ravaged London comes into play here with the kidnapped lover temporarily installed in a derelict hidden room underneath a broken brick wasteland to await his gruesome but quick death at manic Newton's hands. And it is Newton's picture - although Naunton Wayne gives him a run for his money later on - his perfect diction matching his impassive body language (maybe exhausted after all the gurning he'd just done in Oliver Twist) and creating a perfectly clinical analysis of the mind of a hopeful murderer. Monty sure was a lucky dog to have escaped a bath though!A great little film with plenty for you to think about and an atmosphere all of its own when the British made good British films with only the British in mind – even with Yank input!

Robert Newton is a Doctor and a gentleman. But even he can be pushed too far from his manipulative cheating wife, Storm. Sally Gray gives a devastatingly perfect performance as Storm. Her callow suitor-du-jour, an American sailor named Bill, doesn't have the faintest idea of the peril he's in for when he dates her. Newton's character has nothing in particular against Bill. In fact, he rather likes him. He just happens to be the straw that broke the camel's back.It's all played out in a single hidden room that no one knows Newton owns, and the psychological effects the situation has on its three principal is explored to its utmost. If you enjoy film noir, and taut character studies, this is the movie for you. Don't miss the dark-humoured twist ending!