Sudden Fear (1952)

A stage actor (Jack Palance) is fired by the playwright (Joan Crawford) because she doesn’t think he is romantic enough, so he proves her wrong by winning her heart. And everyone lives happily ever after.

Pitch perfect casting of Palance as the homme fatale. Charismatic enough but definitely not the romantic lead type, he fits the character perfectly. Plus he nailed the performance as the menacing charmer. This is the role that launched his career. Gloria Grahame is his accomplice.

No longer the traditional Hollywood leading lady, Crawford fully embraces this mature lead part of her career. As executive producer, she was involved in all aspects of production, not dissimilar to her character. She wanted Clark Gable in the Palance role but was thankfully overruled.

Crawford’s Myra doesn’t seek help when she begins to fear for her life. This is a key point in order for the story to happen, and it’s handled reasonably well. The director also did a pretty fair job planting ideas into the audience’s head to build later tension. We are never sure how this will all play out until the very end.

A little overly dramatic in parts, but Sudden Fear has solid performances. It’s an interesting take on the genre and totally sticks the landing. AMRU 3.5.