Nightmare Alley (1947 film)
| Nightmare Alley | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Edmund Goulding |
| Produced by | George Jessel |
| Screenplay by | Jules Furthman |
| Based on |
Nightmare Alley 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Cyril J. Mockridge |
| Cinematography | Lee Garmes |
| Edited by | Barbara McLean |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Nightmare Alley is a 1947 film noir starring Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell, and directed by Edmund Goulding. The film is based on the 1946 novel of the same name, written by William Lindsay Gresham.
Power, wishing to expand beyond the romantic and swashbuckler roles that brought him to fame, bought the rights to the novel so he could star as the unsavory lead, "The Great Stanton", a scheming carnival barker. The film premiered in the United States on October 9, 1947, then went into wide release on October 28, 1947, later having six more European releases between November 1947 to May 1954.
To make the film more believable, the producers built a full working carnival on ten acres (40,000 m2) of the 20th Century Fox back lot. They also hired over 100 sideshow attractions and carnival people to add further authenticity.
As noted on the DVD commentary track by Alain Silver and James Ursini, Nightmare Alley was somewhat unusual among film noir in having top stars, production staff and a relatively large budget. Despite a strong promotion campaign, the film was not a financial success upon its original release, due in part to protests against some of the scandalous content. The film has found acclaim and is regarded as a classic.
The movie follows the rise and fall of a con man—a story that begins and ends at a seedy traveling carnival. The carnival's barker, Stanton "Stan" Carlisle (Tyrone Power), is fascinated by everything there, including a grotesque geek, who prompts an observation from Stanton that he "can't understand how anybody could get so low." Stanton works with "Mademoiselle Zeena" (Joan Blondell) and her alcoholic husband, Pete (Ian Keith). Once a top-billed vaudeville act, Zeena and Pete used an ingenious code to make it appear that she had extraordinary mental powers, until her attentions to other men drove Pete to drink and reduced them to working in carnivals. Stanton learns that many people want to buy the code from Zeena for a lot of money but she refuses to sell; she is saving it as a nest egg.
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