Sudden Fear [VHS]
Legend has it that Joan Crawford fought against having Jack Palance as  her leading man, protesting that he was the ugliest man in Hollywood. Her producer finally prevailed by convincing her that her character had to be sympathetic--and Palance was the only actor in town who was scarier than she was. The result wasSudden Fear, a thriller that earned Oscar nominations for both actors as well as for its gorgeous black-and-white cinematography. Crawford plays Myra Hudson, a successful playwright and heiress who insists that actor Lester Blaine (Palance) be fired from the Broadway production of her new play because he doesn't look properly romantic. But when she takes a train back home to San Francisco, they meet again, and this time she falls head over heels in love. Before long they're married. A wedding photo in the New York City newspapers brings Blaine's old  girlfriend, Irene (the criminally underappreciated Gloria Grahame) back into his life. The two start plotting Hudson's murder--but when Hudson stumbles onto the scheme, she starts concocting a plot of her own. The direction is taut and heavily influenced (but successfully so) by Alfred Hitchcock; the use of sound is particularly skillful. And whether it's because she's playing opposite Palance or not, this is definitely one of Crawford's most sympathetic performances.--Bret Fetzer