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Strange Illusion

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Strange Illusion
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdgar G. Ulmer
Screenplay byAdele Comandini
Story byBased on an original
story by Fritz Rotter
Produced byLeon Fromkess
StarringJames Lydon
Sally Eilers
Warren William
Regis Toomey
Charles Arnt
George H. Reed
Jayne Hazard
Jimmy Clark
Mary McLeod
Pierre Watkin
John Hamilton
Sonia Sorel
Vic Potel
CinematographyPhilip Tannura, A.S.C.
Eugen Schüfftan (uncredited)
Edited byCarl Pierson
(supervising film editor)
Music byMusical score composed
and conducted by Erdody
Production
company
Distributed byP R C Incorporated
Release date
  • March 31, 1945 (1945-03-31) (United States)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Strange Illusion is a 1945 film noir. Loosely inspired by Hamlet, it was envisioned as a modern crime film. It was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starred Jimmy Lydon, Warren William and Sally Eilers. According to noir historian Spencer Selby the film is "a stylish cheapie by the recognized master of stylish cheapies."[1]

Plot

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A college student has a recurrent dream that leads him to suspect there is something sinister about his widowed mother's suitor.

Cast

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Reception

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Critical response

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Film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, yet liked the atmospherics of the film, and wrote, "The dark psychological thriller had an engrossing premise courtesy of Mr. Shakespeare and was influenced further by Freudian dream analysis, but it was unconvincing as a melodrama, the script was weak, the plot was full of holes and the acting was as lame as it gets...What's interesting is that the film is shot as an intense dream sequence in shadowy black-and-white hues and its sense of delirium powerfully filters through the story almost wiping away the unconvincing heavy-handed performances of the villains and the mummified acting by the leads. It's a film where Ulmer's unique style and his film noir moody interjections work better than the derivative mystery story."[2]

Critic Matthew Sorrento of Film Threat also lauded the film: "Though saddled with the script’s fetish for Freud, Ulmer stylizes his thriller without sending it adrift. Like his other great films, Strange Illusion is a shaggy quickie that takes fine shape throughout."[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Selby, Spencer. Dark City: The Film Noir, film listed as film noir #391 on page 182, 1984. Jefferson, N.C. & London: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 0-89950-103-6.
  2. ^ Schwartz, Dennis. "Ozus' World Movie Reviews," film review, September 20, 2004. Accessed: August 1, 2013.
  3. ^ Sorrento, Matthew. Film Threat, film review, February 18, 2011. Accessed: August 1, 2013.
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