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Rating:  - The Tierney Magic
The suspense is totally engrossing, and serves as a good example of Otto Preminger's mastery of the genre. Gene Tierney's performance is deeply moving as she plays the kleptomaniac spouse of a famous psychiatrist, Richard Conte, who falls into the clutches of a nefarious charlatan. The Tierney magic works at full potency as she emotes the conflicting thoughts and feelings that tear at her soul.
Jose Ferrer as the sociopathic astrologer/hypnotist, is completely sinister as he cons, then blackmails, rich women in need of psychiatric help out of their fortunes. Whirlpool is a must for suspense freaks and film noir addicts. Reminiscing a bit about Laura, Otto Preminger created a point of rendezvous for past and future shades. Ironically, this film foreshadows the kind of desperate battle into which Gene Tierney will later be caught up in, as she fights to stay afloat in her own swirling torrent.
Rating:  - Solid Mystery, if not Great Nior
"Whirlpool" is a first rate murder mystery but it's debatable if it qualifies as a noir release. Silver and Ward's encyclopedic "Film Noir" does not list it, though it does mention other releases by the lading cast members. No matter, W can stand on its' own merits. As the story opens, Gene Tierney is pinched for shoplifting by the house dick at a fancy department store in LA. Quickly, perhaps a bit conveniently, GT is sprung by a smooth talking Jose Ferrer. It develops that GT is a very vulnerable young woman. Among her problems is kleptomania and JF is quick to exploit. He hypnotizes GT under the guise of "helping her sleep at night" but he has far darker motives. It seems he has bilked Barbara O'Neill out of $60Gs and O'N wants her $$ back. Soon she is found murdered-with GT at the crime scene! As many of previous reviews have revealed the resolution, this one will try to maintain an air of mystery. Will justice be done? Is GT on her way to the electric chair? Her lawyer is planning an insanity defense! What happens? My amazon friends will have to watch for themselves, but what develops is a very solid murder mystery with many more angles than mentioned here. This reviewer believes that the males carry W. Richard Conte is GT's supportive husband, capably shedding his customary tough guy role. (He is a shrink with a penchant for taping his sessions!) Charles Bickford is perfect as the gruff but patient veteran homicide detective. And Ferrer is over the top as an effete oily, smug villain with an airtight alibi. (Wasn't he flat on his back in a hospital bed the night O'N met her demise?) One wonders why he didn't play the black hat more often. With all the references to hypnosis and kleptomania W is an easy movie to over analyze. Amazoners are urged to resist this temptation and simply enjoy W on its' own terms. Watch attentively. This is a good one, noir or not.
Rating:  - Ferrer as Satanic Svengali
Jose Ferrer proved he had a strong acting presence and reached his peak in his virtuoso role in "Cyrano de Bergerac." In "Whirlpool" he is cast in a role that stretches his talents.
Ferrer can display a modicum of style mixed with a strong measure of authority when he is so disposed. Ultimately he emerges as a satanic Svengali hell bent on destroying beautiful Gene Tierney.
Tierney, for her part, is cast as a vulnerable woman who is seen as ripe pickings by the opportunistic Ferrer. After all, she is the wife of a prominent psychiatrist, played by Richard Conte in a shift from more traditionally machismo roles, and has plenty of money.
Otto Preminger, the director who specialized in films dealing with the "moral ambiguity" of America in the mid-century period, was just the person to develop such a conflict on screen in this 1949 release.
It was only natural for veteran scenarist Ben Hecht to write the screenplay, working with Andrew Solt. After all, it was Hecht who gave us such psychological thrillers working with Alfred Hitchcock as "Spellbound" and "Notorious."
The film begins with Ferrer helping Tierney out of a jam. Even though she lives an affluent life with her highly successful husband, Tierney is a kleptomaniac. When she attempts to steal a brooch from a department store the store's detective is there to apprehend her before she has a chance to drive away.
Ferrer comes to the rescue of Tierney. The store manager knows him well and immediately seeks to bring an unfortunate matter to a close. His conduct tips off viewers early that Ferrer is the type of individual who can and will cause trouble if and when he feels so disposed and has a formidable reputation.
It takes Ferrer little time to adopt his Svengali manner and seek to dominate Tierney, who in turn resists. Before long circumstances develop under Ferrer's unscrupulous planning that she is charged with a murder.
To give away more would interfere with the suspense plotting, but it can be said without giving away critical facts that Ferrer is a man who plays by the "take no prisoners" rules. Opportunism and domination are his twin hallmarks.
Just as we have an ongoing conflict in the relationship between Ferrer and Tierney, we have a corresponding cooperative alliance that emerges between Tierney's husband Conte and police-investigating detective Charles Bickford.
When Bickford sees that Conte is a loyal husband convinced that the woman he loves is innocent, Bickford confides that his wife died recently, generating empathy between the two men as he begins to increasingly believe that Tierney is an innocent victim.
Bickford, as a shrewd and veteran police officer, realizes that he can benefit from Conte's professional expertise from his background as a world famous psychiatrist. Conte's knowledge of the effects of hypnosis proves highly beneficial in helping solve the case.
Bickford at a critical juncture treats Conte more like an investigative partner rather than the husband of the official prime suspect of the moment and his strategy ploy brings results when a Conte strategy ploy results with Ferrer figuratively "hanging himself on his own petard."
Rating: - Tierney's best acting. A noir treat!
This is a marvelous film noir story set in every day upper-middle-class America. It presents the popular ambivalence felt at the time about psychoanalysis, with one "good" Doctor and one charlatan.
I am a fan of Gene Tierney, without thinking she a great actress. She was exceptionally pretty, had a very polished manner, and very average in range. This made her a wonderful representative of both the middle class, and their hopes of being refined. To my mind, while this is not her best film (That being either THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR or LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN), this IS her finest acting work. It uses her blankness to advantage, and this script also gives her the pathos and confusion to vent full emotional range which is rare for her films. (To the observant person, it also displays the flaws of her presentational acting style; as when she breaks down in a torrent of bitter tears, and looks up afterwards - dry eyed and serene. But for THIS film - playing a woman completely divorced from her own emotions - even that works to the benefit of the plot.)
An actor is always helped - made better, challenged more - by working with other great actors, and she is working here with one of the very best, Jose Ferrer. This was shortly before his academy award win in CYRANNO, and quite possibly, this incredibly complex performance contributed to that win, he is simply excellent. All screen villains should watch this, every second of his performance is filled with a gamut of emotions, and mundane details. It is clear that not only is his character the smartest person in the room, but Ferrer may be as well. Tierney carries the story and Ferrer moves it along. Charles Bickford also gives a marvelous performance in a smaller, yet layered role as the rumpled, grieving Detective.
Richard Conte, is the real oddball casting. His street-tough demeanor is what carried his career. (He is magnificent as the psycho mob boss in stylish expressionistic noir film, THE BIG COMBO.) So it was an interesting choice to cast him as the intellectual top-notch psychologist, and ideal husband, but it doesn't really work. We just can't really believe that people would turn to him for help, that level of sensitivity isn't there. Ultimately, this is an undercurrent of the movie, however, and Director Otto Preminger may have been making the point that even a good Psychiatrist may not be that good for people.
This film was probably shocking in its day - not very nice - like watching those lovely people next door have a drunken brawl. A larger theme which is being exposed here is that the "perfect post-war life" is an empty façade. Since this was made in 1949, this film presents a very early warning shot across the bow of the "Cleaver Family" façade. It would be almost 10 years before this was a much more common thread, in such movies as the Kim Novak/Kirk Douglas "STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET," and then films with James Dean, who became the poster boy of idyllic family life with a dysfunctional core.
The talented Ben Hecht wrote the screenplay with Andrew Solt, based on a novel by Guy Endore. Much more than mystery, much more than noir, this is a very fine story with good plot twists, emotional life (which is usually absent or ice-cold in noir), developed with subtlety and brains. It is still a joy to watch for itself, but made timeless by the despicable, love-to-hate-him performance of Jose Ferrer.
Rating:  - This is an excuciatingly dull, BAD movie
As a lover of film noir and proud owner of most that are on DVD or VHS, I can say without hesitation that this is one of the very worst ever. The only reason I gave it two stars, instead of one, was because of the fine performers who were saddled with this inane script.
Joe Ferrer's hypnosis of Gene Tierney to allow her to sleep is nothing compared to the yawns brought about by the agonizingly slow pace, lack of action, and interminable pauses between lines. At one point, Gene Tierney swears that she hasn't been lying, and you find yourself wanting to respond: "Of course, you haven't. You haven't said anything of import."
The storyline makes absolutely no sense. Jose Ferrer has set
up the perfect crime so what does he do? He returns to the scene for no apparent reason other than to be captured. He hypnotizes Gene Tierney to steal incriminating evidence and then has her place the items where they will inexorably be discovered.
A complete waste of wonderful performers. Cross this one off the list, and donate the $9.99 to your favorite charity.
Or pourchase "The Dark Corner," a truly memorable Fox noir with an outstanding performance by a breathtakingly gorgeous Lucille Ball.
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