Phantom Lady (film)
| Phantom Lady | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Robert Siodmak |
| Produced by | Joan Harrison |
| Screenplay by | Bernard C. Schoenfeld |
| Based on |
Phantom Lady 1942 novel by Cornell Woolrich |
| Starring |
Franchot Tone Ella Raines Alan Curtis |
| Music by | Hans J. Salter |
| Cinematography | Woody Bredell |
| Edited by | Arthur Hilton |
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Production
company |
Universal Pictures
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Phantom Lady is a 1944 crime drama film noir directed by Robert Siodmak starring Franchot Tone, Ella Raines and Alan Curtis. The film was Siodmak's first Hollywood noir. It was also a first for producer Joan Harrison, Universal Pictures' first female executive, who was Alfred Hitchcock's former screenwriter and went on to produce his TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The film was based on the novel of the same name (which was published under the pseudonym William Irish).
After a fight with his wife on their anniversary, Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis), a 32-year-old engineer, picks up an equally unhappy woman in a bar and they take a taxi to see a show. The woman refuses to tell him anything about herself. The star of the show, Estela Monteiro (Aurora Miranda), becomes furious when she notices that both she and the mystery woman are wearing the same unusual hat. When Henderson returns home, he finds Police Inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez) and two of his men waiting to question him; his wife has been strangled with one of his neckties. Henderson has a solid alibi, but the bartender, taxi driver and Monteiro deny seeing the phantom lady. Henderson cannot even clearly describe the woman. He is tried and sentenced to death.
Carol Richman (Ella Raines), a loyal secretary secretly in love with her boss, sets out to exonerate him. She starts with the bartender. She sits in the bar night after night, staring at and unnerving him. Finally, she follows him home one night. When he confronts her on the street, some bystanders step in to restrain him. He breaks free, runs into the street and is run over. Later, Burgess offers to help (unofficially); he has become convinced that only a fool or an innocent man would have stuck to such a weak alibi. Burgess provides her with information about the drummer at the show, Cliff (Elisha Cook, Jr.), who had tried to make eye contact with the mystery lady. Richman dresses gaudily and goes to the show. Rhythmic inter-cutting between Cliff's frantic drumming (dubbed by Gene Krupa or possibly Dave Coleman as per IMDb) and the leering responses of Richman leads to them going back to his apartment. Somewhat drunk, he brags that he was paid $500 for his false testimony. However, he becomes suspicious and finds a piece of paper with details about him. Richman manages to escape, leaving her purse behind. After she has gone, the real murderer, Henderson's best friend Jack Marlow (Franchot Tone), shows up at the apartment and strangles Cliff.
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