Product: Sudden Fear [VHS]
Rating: 2.0
Masochist Dearest
Can anyone who watches this movie ever erase from their mind the scene where Crawford finds out Palance and Grahame are plotting to kill her and goes stark, raving mad? It an Olympian display of overacting that has never been equalled: Crawford pulls at her hair, wildly darts her unfocused, bulging eyes, clamps her ears shut, pulls tight her grimacing mouth. A lunatic chimpanzee receiving electroshock couldn't do justice to Crawford's facial contortions here. I guess the reason that Crawford is such a fascinating screen presence to fans and nonfans alike is that she's a relentless masochist. In movie after movie, no matter what terrible fate befalls her, no matter how many times she is betrayed, it's nothing compared to the mental punishments she visits upon herself. The movie itself is serviceable but fairly ludicrous; there are glaring plot holes almost never seen in true film noir. The entire switched-identities ending is just about as bizarre as Crawford's performance.