Search - Whirlpool on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1949 DVD Release: 09/06/2005 Format: DVD - Black and White Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 37 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Thriller, Psychological Thriller

In this compelling and unusual psychological melodrama Ann Sutton (Gene Tierney), a woman tormented by her secret kleptomania seeks help from a unscrupulous hypnotist David Korvo (Jose Ferrer). Although she is married to a successful psychiatrist (Richard Conte), and has no need to steal the items which she could easily purchase, she finds herself powerless to control her urge. She is finally caught when she attempts to steal a brooch from a department store but she is saved by Korvo who persuades the store not to prosecute. Grateful and desperate for help, Ann allows Korvo to treat her. Korvo, taking advantage of Ann's vulnerability, hypnotizes her and sends her to the home of a former mistress whom he has stolen money from and subsequently murdered when she threatened to turn him in to the police. Ann is charged with the murder. Convinced of his wife's innocence, Richard must crack Korvo's seeming airtight alibi. Richard tricks Korvo into returning to the scene of the crime to find some evidence in the exciting conclusion. This unusual tale of murder and mental illness was written by a blacklisted Ben Hecht under the pseudonym "Lester Barstow" and bears a striking resemblance to another Hecht thriller, Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Gene Tierney - Ann Sutton
Richard Conte - Dr. William Sutton
José Ferrer - David Korvo
Charles Bickford - Lt. Colton
Eduard Franz - Martin Avery
Barbara O'Neil - Theresa Randolph

Whirlpool is a good film, one that will especially please those viewers who appreciate the joys of film noir. Yet Whirlpool is also a disappointing film, especially for those familiar with the talent involved who might expect a more satisfying end product. Part of the problem is that Whirlpool's screenplay is filled with implausibilities. Adding to the problem is the fact that so much of its outlook on psychology and hypnotism are incredibly dated. Even the crackling, flavorful Ben Hecht dialogue can't quite make up for these problems, or for the echoes of Spellbound that surface throughout the film. But the bigger problem seems to be with Otto Preminger's direction. It's good, mind you, but it works in fits and starts; it's almost as if Preminger found himself both attracted to and afraid of the film for some reason. His commitment to Whirlpool ebbs occasionally, then comes back strong, and this occurs several times. It's not enough to sink the film, but it does make one wonder what Whirlpool would have been like if Preminger had felt a consistent connection to the material. Fortunately, his vacillations don't seem to affect the cast, with Gene Tierney and José Ferrer turning in thoroughly effective performances that help to offset Richard Conte's annoyingly wooden one. Despite its flaws, Whirlpool is worth watching, and there are some aspects -- its focus on kleptomania, the dual "good girl/femme fatale" quality of Tierney's character, the superficiality of the leading characters' marriage -- that are quite intriguing. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide