The Dark Corner

Plot synopsis:
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his secretary Kathleen (Lucille Ball), he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers. Galt turns the tables on the man following him (William Bendix), who claims to be a private eye named Foss, hired by Galt's sworn enemy, a corrupt lawyer named Tony Jardine. In the meantime, Jardine has begun having an affair with the much-younger wife of Hardy Cathcart (Clifton Webb), a wealthy art-gallery owner. It appears that Jardine is setting up Galt to take another fall. But it turns out Foss is not a private eye but a thug named Stauffer, secretly working for Cathcart. He ambushes Galt, knocking him out with ether, then murders Jardine and places a bloody poker in Galt's hand. Kathleen has fallen in love with Galt, so she aids him in covering up the crime and in trying to find out who's behind it. Cathcart, rather than pay off Stauffer, pushes him through a window to his death. It appears Cathcart has thought of everything, but just as he is about to eliminate Galt at the art gallery, someone else arrives to ruin Cathcart's diabolical plan.

Tags: murder

Review:
She did, however, lend her welcome presence to three film noir: Two Smart People, Lured, and, the first and best of them, The Dark Corner.She plays the new, spunky receptionist to private eye Mark Stevens (and gets top billing; logically the star, Stevens comes only fourth in the titles).
Kreuger, however, isn't even aware that Stevens is out of prison and in New York; he's too busy romancing the young wife (Cathy Downs) of rich art-gallery owner Clifton Webb (she sits around bored, listening to `his paintings crack with age').
With the help of his kind secretary, Kathleen, this pair embark in a voyage of discovery where a few surprises await them."The Dark Corner" is a fine example of a film noir, enhanced by the background shots of Manhattan.
Ms. Ball was an accomplished actress who was basically seen in comedy, but as this film shows, she could play anything.Clifton Webb turns up as Cathcart, the art gallery owner.
Kurt Kreuger is seen as Jardine and Cathy Downs plays the deceiving wife, Mari."The Dark Corner" is a film that will not disappoint the viewer, thanks to Henry Hathaway's direction and the work of this cast, but especially watch out for Ms. Ball, she does amazing work!.
The private investigator Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) has just moved from San Francisco, where he was framed by his former partner Anthony Jardine (Kurt Kreuger) and unfairly spent two years in jail, to a well located office of his own in New York, where he works with his efficient, witty and very beautiful secretary Kathleen (Lucille Ball).
His only lead is the man of white suit, and with the support of Kathleen, they try to find the unknown man to discover who is behind the murder of Jardine.In the atmosphere of New York in the 40's, "The Dark Corner" has a perfect direction, with the development of the characters in a great screenplay with some magnificent lines (I love Brad telling Cathcart's assistant that he would take the Donatello and asking her to wrap it up.) and a wonderful cinematography.
Mark Stevens and Lucille Ball show a perfect chemistry and the villains are very realist in this unknown but first-rate film-noir.
It would be interesting to learn the background of the casting of this movie and how Stevens came to get the main role and why he was given just fourth billing.Even so, "The Dark Corner," WITH Mark Stevens, is still one of the better film noirs of the 1940s.
Lucille Ball adds charm and flair to the story as Galt's faithful, resourceful secretary who invites herself into the detective's dilemma, which eventually leads to a wealthy art collector named Cathcart, played by the suave, and always engaging, Clifton Webb.
When combined with a story of one man up against sinister forces, these cinematic elements, taken as a whole, communicate a philosophy of existentialism.For viewers who like heavy-duty 1940's noir films with interesting characters, good acting, and striking cinematography, "The Dark Corner" is one of the better choices..
Witty dialogue with lots of clever innuendo, murky (but not annoyingly so) plot, and stark, moody lighting set the scene for the "typical" noir scenario in which the smart-cookie secretary (Lucille Ball) saves the private eye's hide.
This is a pretty good thriller more or less in the noir mold and made just after the Second World War. Mark Stevens is a private eye in trouble, Lucille Ball his loyal girl Friday, Clifton Webb an art dealer, and William Bendix a thug.
Effective early postwar Noir, with tough New York shamus Mark Stevens desperate to prove his innocence (with the help of loyal secretary Lucille Ball) in one of movies' best frameups.
The Dark Corner of the title refers to the fact that our hero/protagonist Mark Stevens has himself in a situation where he's being manipulated and he can't see who's doing the manipulating.To begin with Stevens has a grudge against former partner Kurt Krueger who when they were private eyes together, Krueger was doing a little blackmail on the side that innocent dupe Stevens took a fall for.But elegant art gallery owner Clifton Webb has a much bigger grudge against Krueger.
The Dark Corner is a fine noir film, a great change of pace for Lucille Ball and a great followup second film for Clifton Webb to succeed Laura..
Okay, so the main characters appear to be facsimiles of A-movie prototypes, with Clifton Webb not quite as venal as Claude Rains, Mark Stevens not quite as hard-boiled as Alan Ladd and Lucille Ball not quite as alluring as Lauren Bacall but they commit so well to their characters that a fairly preposterous narrative becomes gripping and involving throughout.
This film noir presents an interesting series of role reversals.First two comedians ( Lucille Ball and William Bendix ) play dramatic roles.
The film benefits from a nice mysterious film noir plot, which sees former jailbird turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspect his former partner, lawyer Anthony Jardine, of being behind a man who has been sent to trail him.
Mark Stevens is a detective framed for murder in "The Dark Corner," a 1946 film noir starring Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb and William Bendix.
Stevens is Bradford Galt, a New York private eye with a San Francisco past; Lucille Ball is his beautiful secretary, Kathleen.
"The Dark Corner" is a great movie because--for most people--they've never even heard of it before.Think of it, though--in one film, a no-nonsense murder/detective yarn you've got two of the biggest comedy stars of the 50's TV scene, Lucille Ball and William Bendix, who played the bumbling lead in the "Life of Riley" on both radio and television.Lucy's good as the secretary with the heart of gold while Clifton Webb sheds his Belvedere image and plays a real heavy.This movie's got everything:  a fine cast, a cornball, Mike Hammerish script, some great jazz, a chase scene, some sneaky humor as well as a surprise or two.I actually found it on the shelf at Blockbuster which is pretty surprising in light of their meager holdings of older films.
Most of the movie is toward Mark Stevens as a private investigator, and Lucille Ball plays as his secretary.
I would say that this movie is probably one of her best movies and she plays a positive role, unlike her other films like "The Big Street."Overall, this movie is great to watch because of the good setting, good storyline, and best of all, seeing Lucille Ball..
But, aided by his intrepid secretary, Kathleen, he intends to get to the bottom of the shady mystery that's lurking in the dark corner.Henry Hathaway (Kiss of Death/Call Northside 777) directs this very tidy Noir/Crime picture that stars Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix and Mark Stevens.
The idea of Lucille Ball in a film noir probably sounds like the sort of movie that would have to star Leslie Nielsen.
Ball plays Kathleen, the secretary of New York private eye Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens), investigating who framed him for murder.
It featured Mark Stevens, Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix, Kurt Krueger and Constance Collier.
When Galt is framed for murder, the extremely loyal Kathleen vows to stay right by her boss's side and help him clear his name.The high contrast lighting and interesting angles are present and accounted for in this solid example of the film noir genre.
This movie was directed by the great Henry Hathaway, one of the un-sung giants of American cinema.First of all I am a big fan of one of the greatest female clowns that ever lived, so it was nice to see Lucille in a role as a hard-boiled secretary of a Private Detective (played by the forgotten Mark Stevens), she has snappy lines and shows heart!
But get's involved with anyway.There is a blackmail story involved too, so suave Clifton Webb character gets in involved too.Early USA Television star William Bendix of Life of Riley's, plays a payed a hit-man..
but what The Dark Corner has is a serviceable plot and a cast of intriguing actors, many of whom would hit stardom on 50's TV: the film has the unexpected appeal of a 35-year old Lucille Ball in a dramatic role--- with New York itself deserving of an screen credit.
Leading his stalker down a dark alley Galt turns the tables on him and then roughing him up, after getting the big guy, in his office he finds out that he's also a private eye named Foss, William Bendix, not "White Suit" as he referred to him to his his secretary Kathleen, Lucille Ball.
Both Mark Stevens and a pre "I Love Lucy" Lucille Ball really work very well together with William Bendix his usually brutish self as the tough as nails hood who thinks that he's in the drivers seat but sadly finds out that he's not.
Little noir thriller with Lucille Ball in an awkward role as the loyal secretary of private snoop Brad Galt (Mark Stevens), an embittered ex-convict who returned to the private detective business upon his release.
Quite a lot of screen time, but an insignificant role for the story as a whole.This film might hold some appeal for noir lovers and fans of Lucille Ball.
Well, this was the case in point that I found with The Dark Corner, which co-starred actress Lucille Ball.If Ball hadn't been given such a substantial role, then, very likely, the whole scenario of the story would've probably played out about 10x better than it did.But because Ball was in my face almost constantly (and I took a strong disliking to her almost immediately) she came pretty close to wrecking the whole shebang for me, hook, line, and sinker.I mean, here was a nicely-paced, vintage film from 1946.
Set against the bustling background of downtown Manhattan, its intriguing story-line, its striking camera-work, and its competent direction all added up to a nice, little slice of 1940's Film Noir.And, then, along comes the annoying Lucile Ball as Kathleen, the irritating secretary of tough-guy, P.I., Brad Galt.Kathleen's aggravating, one-track minded determination to get the dashing, young Brad as quickly as possible to the altar bordered on the verge of being absolutely ludicrous in nature.All-in-all - Lucille Ball as Kathleen was the one major sour-note in The Dark Corner's otherwise engaging story..
New York private investigator Mark Stevens gets interested enough in his secretary (Lucille Ball) to take her out after work to a New York arcade where she mentions that they're being followed by a guy in a white suit (William Bendix).
Stevens thinks Mr. Bendix may have been sent by former business partner Kurt Kreuger (as Anthony "Tony" Jardine), who is having an affair with Cathy Downs (as Mari), the beautiful wife of wealthy art dealer Clifton Webb (as Hardy Cathcart).Director Henry Hathaway and 20th Century Fox get far more than they bargained for with this unheralded crime drama.
And, you get a moderate dose of queenly Constance Collier (as Mrs. Kingsley).******* The Dark Corner (4/9/46) Henry Hathaway ~ Mark Stevens, Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix.
Solid film noir has Mark Stevens in "a dark corner"....
The story is something out of a pulp detective novel with hard-boiled MARK STEVENS finding himself in a dark corner after a brush with the law and some cheating by his ex-partner KURT KREUGER.His beautiful secretary is well played by LUCILLE BALL in a rare dramatic role and she does fine as the gal who stands beside her man when he's knee deep in trouble and wants to clear himself of a frame-up.*****POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD*****CLIFTON WEBB is the art gallery owner whose role in the web of deception isn't fully revealed at first, reminds me of his Lydecker character from "Laura," again obsessed by a beautiful woman, this time his wife CATHY DOWNS.
That honour goes to Mark Stevens, who is little-heard of today but who is good value as the private dick with a past.Clifton Webb and William Bendix are on hand to contribute their expertise.
Henry Hathaway directed this mystery that stars Mark Stevens as private detective Bradford Galt, who invites his secretary Kathy(played by Lucille Ball) on a casual date to a penny arcade, when they realize that they are being followed by a man in a white suit(played by William Bendix).
Few actors can sweat with creepy menace as much as William Bendix, the sleazy thug hired by an enemy of lead detective, Bradford Galt, played by Mark Stevens a perfect week-kneed noir hero at the mercy of his past.
Add effete Clifton Webb, an art dealer with plenty of attitude and his svelte young wife who has other ideas than being good to her husband--and there's also pre-Lucy Lucille Ball, odd as a supportive secretary--but because of fast-paced, well-modulated direction and especially a cinematographer who could capture the shadowy streets and shuttered, barren offices at night, The Dark Corner, where our nervous hero huddles after numerous brushes with those who would do him ill, is a nice little noir thriller.
Bendix and Webb combine with very different roles to make good antagonists, while the little-known Cathy Downs glows with a classic femme-fatale beauty.All-in-all a good movie that sparkles with noir lighting in addition to a good plot which should hold your interest throughout.
THE DARK CORNER is quite schitzophrenic in its parts: rich vs poor, romance and cruelty, violence and love, loyalty and deception all see-sawing between actors who possibly were never again together in the same film because they are such opposites too: Lucille ball as a savvy secretary, Mark Stevens being angry and romantic and then beating the daylights out of poor silly William Bendix, and then Clifion Webb!
The film is "The Dark Corner" and it's quit a good film.Clifton Webb is the villain here as he has William Bendix do his dirty work before knocking him off so that the blame will fall on Stevens.
Here is still another wonderful performance from this marvelous actor who proves ladies that hell as no fury as a man who is equally scorned.Ball shows that she is quite a clever secretary who can help her guy in the pinch.Without giving the plot away, this is film noir at its very best.
Dark Corner, The (1946) *** (out of 4) Noir about private eye Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) who has a mysterious past, which might be catching up with him after he begins to be followed by a man in white (William Bendix).
However, in spite of the excellent efforts of Clifton Webb, Mark Stevens, and William Bendix to uphold the weak script, their efforts are quite in vain, sabotaged by the superfluous character played by Lucille Ball, and more so, by Ms. Ball's atrocious acting.As the curtain fell on this movie, I couldn't help but wonder just what the purpose was of Ball's character.
With its intriguing and nicely paced storyline, its well-defined characters, and striking camera-work, things all added up to a fairly nice, little slice of 1940's Crime/Drama.I really liked actor Mark Stevens who played the P.I., Brad Galt.
Stevens put in a likable and believable performance.But, on the other hand, Lucille Ball, as Kathleen, the loyal, love-struck secretary, wearing shoulder pads to rival those of any football player's, was clearly out of her league in a serious, dramatic role.Kathleen literally throws herself at her boss, Brad Galt, who she's only been working for just a short time.
Clifton Webb.To be fair neither did Mark Stevens (Ball's co-star) nor William Bendix (then in his own rival television show, THE LIFE OF RILEY).
Galt's only hope is his secretary and lover Kathleen (Lucille Ball) who can help gather information when the police are looking for the hiding Galt.Like many film noir (including LAURA and DOUBLE INDEMNITY) if one looks at the plot carefully there are so many holes in it as to make anyone putting it into effect look insane.
Fortunately, the rest of the cast more than make amends: Clifton Webb reprising his smooth villain of Laura, William Bendix in his element as a heavy, and Lucy Ball swapping smart dialogue.A movie you are absolutely forced to watch, The Dark Corner has all the atmospheric ear-marks of Hathaway's style: precision, pace, and terrifyingly pell-mell action.
Lucille Ball is pretty good as the star in a serious & glamorous role as the secretary to a private detective who has been in trouble and get s framed into more serious trouble in this feature.William Bendix is a sort of elusive type of man who wears bright white suits while trailing after Lucy's boss.
I'm not that familiar with him, but if this is the way Stevens played characters in his other films, it's no wonder he never became a big star.The rest of the cast is generally good with a real standout performance from Lucille Ball (yes, the same Lucy who would go on to eat chocolate off a conveyor belt and stomp grapes with her bare feet).
Brad Galt(Mark Stevens)finishes two years behind bars, framed of course; he starts anew as a private dick with an attractive secretary Kathleen(Lucille Ball).
In 1946 the cast were known but not major players.A few words on the 4 leads.Lucille Ball was supporting actress in many films for nearly 10 years, this was one of her few leads.She was always likable.Clifton Webb, was a big star in Broadway Musicals before coming to Hollywood to appear in Otto Preminger's Laura , 2 years earlier.His role in this film was similar,William Bendix,had major & featured roles for a few years already, playing the same type role he does here.Mark Stevens, is our main character & this is his first role for 20th Century Fox, he was a in about 10 roles at Warner Brothers before this lucky break.Henry Hathaway directed,He was known for making good fast paced films.
In descending order they are: Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix and Mark Stevens.THIS SEEMED to us to be a most unusual cast performing in a very obscure movie.