Sudden Fear

Sudden Fear is a noir film from 1952, stylishly directed by David Miller, that is great fun, with a wonderfully hammy performance by Joan Crawford, as well as a charming yet sinister Jack Palance, and a typically great Gloria Grahame.

Crawford plays a successful playwright who is also an heiress. When the film starts, she has the leading actor in her latest play fired. He's Palance, but on a train ride back to her home in San Francisco they meet by coincidence She wants to apologize, but instead they end up in a whirlwind courtship and marry. She's deliriously happy.

But then Grahame shows up. She's Palance's ex, and it appears she wants to blackmail him. Instead she tells him that Crawford plans on giving away most of her money to charity (Grahame knows this because she's romancing one of Crawford's lawyers). She convinces Palance to kill Crawford. But their whole plan is caught on a dictating machine, and Crawford hears it. So she starts making plans of her own.

The second half of the film is the cat and mouse game that Crawford plays, as she plans to kill Palance and frame Grahame. But, as we know from films like this, nothing ever goes as planned.

Sudden Fear is on high boil, but though it comes close, never gets silly. Crawford and Palance were both Oscar nominated, and Palance is impressive, as he is convincing in his seduction of Crawford, and then as a violent man (he tells Grahame in anger, "You're going to need a new face"). Crawford is given several chances to emote at high levels, breaking into hysterical sobs a few times. She was a champ at this. And Grahame, who specialized in noir, plays a girl from the wrong side of the tracks with claws.

The film ends with a marvelous chase through shadowy streets and alleys in San Francisco. It's an exquisite set piece that utilizes expert use of light and darkness as well as sound. All around, Sudden Fear is terrific.