Product: Sudden Fear [VHS]
Rating: 4.0
Rival Murder Plots Keep Us Guessing & Build Suspense.
"Sudden Fear" falls in the category of female melodrama film noir, a sub-genre which Joan Crawford dominated. Based on Edna Sherry's story of the same name, this is an entertaining film, but not up to the standard of Crawford's other film noirs: "Possessed", "Mildred Pierce", and "The Damned Don't Cry". Crawford plays playwright and heiress Myra Hudson, who refuses to cast actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) in her new play, because he doesn't look romantic enough. Traveling from New York to her home in San Francisco by train, she meets Lester Blaine again. This time, she finds him very attractive, indeed, and falls in love. When Lester employs emotional blackmail to get Myra to marry him, she happily agrees, and is thrilled to be his wife. But unbeknownst to Myra, Lester's old girlfriend Irene Neves (Gloria Grahame) has arrived in town expecting money. When Myra inadvertently uncovers plans by Lester and Irene to murder her, she is devastated and terrified. Then she starts plotting."Sudden Fear" is a film that takes its time. It's not plodding, but there are a lot of scenes that aren't strictly necessary but give Joan Crawford more screen time. The "sudden fear'" of the title must refer to Myra's reaction when she discovers her life is in danger from the very man whom she would be willing to sacrifice it for. She is frantic, paralyzed with fear, almost to the point of mania. But this isn't one of Joan Crawford's more convincing emotional states -not in this film, anyway. Of course, Myra doesn't do the sensible thing and go to the police. Crawford's performance regains credibility with Myra's duplicity as she plots revenge. Jack Palance does a nice job of a two- or three-faced Lester Blaine. He is at first a passionate and thoughtful actor, then a docile and dutiful husband. It's a little shocking when he is suddenly quite brutal. Jack Palance gives the stand-out performance and holds his own well against Crawford's undeniable screen presence. All in all, "Sudden Fear" is an entertaining suspense film that stays unpredictable until the end.The DVD (refers to the Kino Video 2001 disc only) This print of the film has some occasional specks and spots, and the grays are grainy, but no serious flaws. The print is acceptable but unrestored. No bonus features or subtitles.