Cry Wolf (1947)

Film: Cry Wolf (1947)

Stars: Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks, Richard Basehart

Director: Peter Godfrey

Oscar History: No nominations

Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Throughout the month of June we will be doing a Film Noir Movie Marathon, featuring fifteen film noir classics that I'll be seeing for the first time.  Reviews of other film noir classics are at the bottom of this article.

One of the things you notice quite often with film noir is that it's not always clear if films that are "marketed" as film noir will perfectly fit into that genre.  Frequently you'll get what is essentially an adult drama or a gangster picture or even just a straight-up thriller that will be marketed as a film noir, with a bit of a buyer remorse on the other end (especially if you're writing a series about film noir).  Less often, you'll run into a movie like Cry Wolf, from 1947, a movie that is clearly a film noir.  We have an enigmatic, beautiful woman entering a man's office in the opening scene to talk about a mysterious death-pretty much everything involved in a film noir boils down to that sentence.  But what makes Cry Wolf so intriguing is that if it was done right, it wouldn't be a noir.  It would be a horror movie.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film is about Sandra Marshall (Stanwyck), whose young husband has recently died, and left her the entirety of his estate.  She goes to retrieve her inheritance from her husband's uncle, Mark Caldwell (Flynn) who did not know about the marriage, and initially wants to contest it-a vast fortune, one that would likely go to he or his niece Julie (Brooks) is on the line, and he's not giving that up easily.  Sandra stays at the family estate in the meantime, and while she does, they become better acquainted, but she is still suspicious of what he's doing in his off-limits laboratory, particularly after Julie dies in a horrible accident (or "accident" in Sandra's mind).  The film's closing turns out that there is something nefarious happening in Mark's lab, but not what she thinks.  It's not Mark, but her late husband Tom (who is not actually late, but is played by Richard Basehart) who is up to no good, as he's mentally insane and has killed a man, which is why Mark has been keeping Julie & Sandra away from it.  Before Tom can kill Sandra, he falls to his death, and the movie ends with Sandra & Mark likely to end up together romantically, living off of Tom & Julie's money.

That last sentence is not as ruthless as it sounds in the movie, but it's as ruthless as it should've been in the movie.  The Hayes Code frequently meant that movies had to be morally upright, and it's clear in a film like Cry Wolf that this is getting in the way of the plot (I'm aware this is based on a novel-I have not read it so I don't know if the novel is different, but if you have, I would love some insights in the comments).  The reality is that the way the film is set up, it's far more interesting if one of the leads are actually the killer, rather than Basehart who shows up out of nowhere and the film really needs you to trust him initially, even though we know that he's clearly the bad guy given the time and setting and that the studio would want Stanwyck or Flynn to get together.  A movie where Flynn is a mad scientist and the ending shows Stanwyck being chased through the house by the man she's fallen in love with...or a movie where Stanwyck kills Flynn and gets the entire fortune & it's revealed she's been a heartless gold-digger killing this family for its fortune (ala Saltburn) the whole film...both of these are better conclusions.

Because honestly, there's a lot to like about Cry Wolf.  The mood and ambience are strong from the beginning, and it has such a great premise, you really want a ghost story or at least some set of deception.  Flynn and Stanwyck are really unlikely partners onscreen (this was the only film they ever made), and their chemistry is strong until they make sure you know that they're both on the up-and-up.  There are even hints of a werewolf subplot afoot (wouldn't that have been terrific?), which comes to nothing.  Cry Wolf is in its end, a moody, well-crafted (great score) movie that's more good ideas than good execution.

1940's: Act of Violence, The Big Sleep, The Blue Dahlia, Blues in the Night, Born to Kill, Brighton Rock, Criss Cross, Crossfire, Daisy Kenyon, Dead Reckoning, Detour, Fallen Angel, The Fallen Idol, Force of Evil, Gilda, High Sierra, I Walk Alone, I Wake Up Screaming, The Killers, The Lady from Shanghai, Leave Her to Heaven, Ministry of Fear, Moonrise, Murder My Sweet, Nightmare Alley, Out of the Past, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Raw Deal, The Reckless Moment, Ride the Pink Horse, Scarlet Street, Sorry, Wrong Number, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Stranger on the Third Floor, They Drive By Night, They Won't Believe Me, Too Late for Tears, The Woman in the Window, The Woman on the Beach

1950's: Ace in the Hole, Affair in Trinidad, The Asphalt Jungle, Beat the Devil, The Big Combo, The Big Heat, The Blue Gardenia, The Breaking Point, The Burglar, Cast a Dark Shadow, The Crimson Kimono, Elevator to the Gallows, Gun Crazy, The Hitch-Hiker, House of Bamboo, In a Lonely Place, Julie, The Killing, Kiss Me Deadly, Lightning Strikes Twice, Murder by Contract, Night and the City, Odds Against Tomorrow, On Dangerous Ground, Pickup on South Street, The Prowler, Slightly Scarlet, Sudden Fear, Sweet Smell of Success, They Live By Night, While the City Sleeps

Neo-Noir: Blade Runner, Body Heat, Farewell My Lovely, Fargo, From Afar, The Late Show, The Long Goodbye, Lost Highway, Night Moves, Nightcrawler, Le Samourai