Many a film noir has traded heavily on mistrust, betrayal, isolation. These are themes that breed doubt and underpin anxiety, and what better way to highlight doubts and anxieties than to tell a tale through the eyes of an amnesiac. Even partial loss of memory becomes a type of betrayal of self, a descent into the classic inky nightmare of the noir universe where a person can no longer feel confident in their own being, where awareness is forever tempered by a gnawing fear that there may be something contemptible lurking within one’s own heart. This notion of the unreliable narrator has enjoyed sporadic popularity and saw something of a revival in crime fiction and its adaptations a few years ago. High Wall (1947) toys with this concept, but it doesn’t really pursue it. Depending on the viewer’s own tastes, that may or may not be regarded as a strength.
We open on a club scene, one of jazzy music, well-heeled revelers clustered round tables or taking a turn on one of those characteristically small dance floors. The camera glides along, drinking it all in and then pauses on a figure at the end of the bar, perched there with his own drink in front of him. His entire demeanor screams disquiet, the cultured, patrician features rumpled and strained by some inner turmoil. He is Willard Whitcombe (Herbert Marshall), a publisher of virtuous literature. After establishing his identity, we cut to the interior of a speeding car, the driver’s countenance set and grim, hurtling down the highway while the lifeless body on the seat beside him lolls obscenely. And then he ploughs off the road, seeking to join the departed passenger who’s been keeping him company. This is Steven Kenet (Robert Taylor), one of those damaged veterans, a man not really recovered from a head injury suffered during the war. That corpse he had been taking on a ride across his own version of the Styx belonged to his wife, and his addled brain has convinced him he must have strangled her before blacking out.
Well, that’s not how things work out, and Kenet finds himself rescued and sent to a psychiatric hospital for assessment. This is the point where the plot kicks in properly, where the patient’s despair gradually transforms into doubt, partly due to the almost complete disintegration of his family and partly as a result of the efforts of Dr Lorrison (Audrey Totter). As we follow Kenet’s painfully slow quest for enlightenment regarding those lost hours, there is another strand unspooling in parallel. While our protagonist might be assailed by fear and uncertainty, there hasn’t been a great deal of doubt in the minds of the viewers as to who the guilty party really is. I don’t think it would amount to a significant spoiler to reveal the identity here – allusions aside, the truth is explicitly spelt out on screen before long anyway – but I’ll refrain from doing so. Of course people can feel free to do so in the comments below if they wish.
Seeing as the script by Sydney Boehm and Lester Cole does reveal the culprit quite early, it is probably fair to assume that the intention was to make this less of a mystery or whodunit and more of a suspense picture. The viewer is not invited to follow a detective figure as he ferrets out leads to corner the killer. We already know who this is, and we also know that the hero is just that and not some cleverly disguised bogeyman waiting to spring a surprise. Somewhat similar to the inverted mystery, the suspense derives from our being a hop, skip and a jump ahead of everyone on the screen, knowing more than they do yet unsure of how or when they will acquire that knowledge. As a premise, this certainly has its merits, but my feeling is that it tends to draw some of the sting out of the amnesia plot, perhaps diluting the potency of the noir scenario in the process.
Curtis Bernhardt had a flair for both film noir and melodrama, and that strong run he embarked on from the mid-1940s, starting with Conflict and extending through to Payment on Demand, saw some of the sensibilities and trappings of both styles bleed into each other. While I have a few reservations about some of the scripting decisions, that is not to say the film is weak overall. Bernhardt’s atmospheric direction is a big part of what makes it work, elevating even the most mundane situations through sheer visual bravado. He manages to elicit tension and the hint of needle from something as simple and prosaic as two people squeezed into a phone booth in a diner, and then juxtaposes hope and despair by having the hero escape a full on deluge by taking a shortcut through a virtually deserted church on his way towards ultimate salvation. Brief, throwaway moments that employ the visual language of the cinema with wonderful eloquence.
There are a good many high points in the post-war career of Robert Taylor, and the quality of his work was remarkably consistent up till at least the start of the 1960s. Pretty much all of his films noir are enjoyable and High Wall is one of the better ones – personally, I’d place Rogue Cop and Party Girl ahead of it but that still leaves it occupying a very respectable third place. He gets the hunted intensity of the amnesiac, the primal guilt that the condition provokes, across very successfully. When this movie was made it seemed as though Audrey Totter was destined to be cast in nothing but film noir, which can be taken as a testament to how comfortably she slotted into that murky style. As a rule, I think I prefer her in unsympathetic roles where her pouty petulance can be so effective. However, she is very much the Girl Friday figure in High Wall, somewhat severe and sober, but loyal and resourceful too. Regardless of the part he was playing, be it hero, villain or anything in between, Herbert Marshall brought what I can only describe as an air of reassurance to the screen. His presence alone could typically be taken as proof that the movie would be a good one.
High Wall has been available on DVD for years as part of the Warner Archive, looking quite strong but sadly devoid of any supplementary material. It is a good, solid noir that falls just short of the very top flight, probably due to the nature of the script. However, it fits neatly into that tantalizing sub-genre of Freudian-influenced dramas and thrillers that flourished in the mid to late 1940s. While it has a few flaws, the direction of Curtis Bernhardt and the strong central performances of Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter and Herbert Marshall easily compensate. Highly recommended.
Riding the High Country 
Robert Taylor really deserves to be regarded as a major noir icon. So many fine performances in noir-tinged movies such as The Bribe and yes, he’s outstanding in the superb Rogue Cop. He’s terrific also in Party Girl although that’s a movie I strongly disliked.
I saw High Wall a very long time ago but I do remember liking it. I guess it’s another movie to add to my list of movies I need to revisit.
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If you’re not into Nicholas Ray, then Party Girl is probably not going to work for you. I am a fan and the movie has that characteristic Ray vibe about it. Personally, I enjoy the blending of styles and genres and the use of color is breathtaking at some points – I bought the Blu-ray when it came out and it that type of lush ‘Scope picture really benefits from the higher resolution. I found the movie worked even better for me when I revisited it.
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I fully agree with Dee that Robert Taylor should rightfully be regarded as a major figure in Film Noir. He was a fine actor and was excellent in several genres, both pre-war and post-war.
I’ve got that Warner archive release and the film looks terrific; this is largely down to the superb cinematography of Paul Vogel (as we can see from the screen grabs you have chosen, Colin).
This is VERY much my kinda movie and I am pleased to see you highly recommend it.
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That Warner DVD is a fine one, Jerry. I very much appreciate the fact so many of Taylor’s movies are now easily accessible. I like his pre-war work too, but I still reckon he came into his own in the years after it.
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Agreed.
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I totally agree. In the 1930s Robert Taylor was your basic matinee idol. A competent actor but no more than that. The change after the war was extraordinary. You can see it as early as 1946 in Vincente Minnelli’s Undercurrent. I regard Undercurrent as a good rather than a great movie but Taylor has suddenly discovered how to access his inner darkness and he has arrived as an actor.
His career post-war followed a similar pattern to that of Jimmy Stewart. Stewart found his inner darkness in Winchester ’73 and suddenly became a great actor.
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The war affected filmmaking in general as well as the actors, making certain types of storytelling more acceptable.
Mann’s films saw James Stewart go to some very dark places, but I’d also say Capra had got some of that from him too a few years before.
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I know what you mean – great cast, nice idea, right director but maybe just the wrong studio. I also thought it would make for a great double-bill with Robert Z Leonard’s The Bribe, as mentioned above (tons of it got used Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid of course).
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There’s plenty to enjoy in the film but a few things that are or feel a little odd too. I didn’t refer to, but perhaps I should have, that episode before the climax with the drunk in the bar. It does facilitate the final confrontation in a roundabout way yet the tone feels very much at odds with the frankly grim situation surrounding it. Would, let’s say, an RKO noir at that time have tried to lighten things in that fashion?
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it fits neatly into that tantalizing sub-genre of Freudian-influenced dramas and thrillers that flourished in the mid to late 1940s.
1940s psychiatry noirs/melodramas – one of my very favourite sub-genres. I just can’t get enough of that sub-genre.
The psychiatry stuff is always half-baked which just makes these movies even more enjoyable. Freudianism wasn’t much use for anything else but it provided great material for thriller novels and movies.
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Psychoanalysis is a marvelous device to facilitate the plots of thriller movies but I’m not qualified to make any call on its efficacy in medical terms. As a plot driver though it is full of possibilities. The psychological aspect is really only incidental in this picture of course.
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My personal favourite in this sub-genre is Otto Preminger’s Whirlpool. OK the guy is a therapist who uses hypnosis rather than being a strict Freudian, but it still fits that obsession with psychotherapy. Gene Tierney is superb as always and José Ferrer is equally good.
I love the way he records his case notes on vinyl records. Very reassuring to his patients to know he’s up with the latest technology.
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Nothing ages as fast as technology. The use of vinyl for personal recording was a feature of The Unsuspected too, although the person storing the recordings there was a broadcaster. It does feel quaint when looked at through modern eyes. I recently watched an episode of Department S where a wire recording had been used to conceal evidence.
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Yes. It’s interesting that so many film-makers today don’t understand that. They think that featuring the latest gee-whizz digital technology in their movies will make them seem modern and up-to-the-minute. Ten years later their movies already seem quaint and old-fashioned and the cool kids won’t watch them.
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Colin
It would be difficult to disagree with anything you say on HIGH WALL. I have the Warner DVD myself. Now as for Taylor’s pre 1939 films, they have all escaped my attention. It seems the only one I have seen is WEST POINT OF THE AIR 1934. I will need to fix that oversight. Your write-ups are always a pleasure to read, so keep them coming my good man!
Gord
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I’ve seen a few of Robert Taylor’s earlier movies. Camille of course. And I liked him in Lady of the Tropics (1939) in which he’s paired wth Hedy Lamarr. Lady of the Tropics is not a bad little romantic melodrama and I’ll watch Hedy Lamarr in anything.
Taylor’s best pre-1945 performance is probably Johnny Eager (1941).
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I’ve caught up with A YANK AT OXFORD, THREE COMRADES, ESCAPE, WATERLOO BRIDGE, JOHNNY EAGER, BILLY THE KID, FLIGHT COMMAND & BATAAN of Taylor’s pre-war work and found these very fine MGM productions with Taylor very quickly increasing his skill as an actor in them. I would recommend any of these.
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I’d go along with all of those. Post-war movies offered more opportunities, or opportunities in other areas, and Taylor’s features began to mature and became a good fit for the kind of roles that were on offer. The earlier stuff is fine by me, but those later parts and movies are more rewarding.
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And that’s also true of not only Taylor but Stewart, McCrea, Scott and several others.
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I think it’s impossible to overstate the impact of the war – the horrors that came to light, the trauma endured, the societal and psychological changes that followed on afterwards. It can be seen in so many areas – not only filmmaking of course, but that’s what we’re concerned with here – from the on screen performances to the writing, and the themes and tone pursued by producers and directors.
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One such example is THE HANGMAN (1959) from a short story by Luke Short. Starring a crafty and versatile Robert Taylor with veteran pro’s Michael Curtiz (direction) and Dudley Nichols (screenplay) guiding the way. If you like Taylor…..he’s at his best here.
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I have never sen a Robert Taylor western but The Hangman does sound very tempting.
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Taylor fitted the western genre like a glove, Dee. The majority of the westerns he made were great examples, even to his last, a TV movie, RETURN OF THE GUNFIGHTER. One of my favourite western stars.
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Yes, I haven’t sen any I actively disliked. Mind you Ride, Vaquero is a bit weak.
I’d recommend The Law and Jake Wade or The Last Hunt as good introductions.
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Quite a long time since I’ve seen that. I know I lied it at the time so I must try to get back to it and see how it plays now.
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Not directly related to anything here – although there is the supporting role for Herbert Marshall – I see that the Warner Archive is releasing Preminger’s wonderful Angel Face on Blu-ray in June. That’s an upgrade I’m certainly keen on.
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For me, Otto Preminger could do no wrong. He really did make some great noirs and Angel Face was one of his best. And he made great non-noirs as well. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen Bonjour Tristesse and it still works for me every time.
Of his later movies I consider Bunny Lake Is Missing to be a fascinating off-kilter masterpiece.
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I liked Bunny Lake is Missing. I plan to watch The Cardinal some time soon.
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ANGEL FACE
Great film all around, cast, crew and director all hit it on this one.
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Colin
We all agree how Robert Taylor worked so well in those Western and Noir roles as he aged.
John Payne is another actor who seemed to fit right in after WW2. Known mostly pre-war for pretty boy, light comedy, musicals and romantic fare. He hit his stride with a whole string of excellent Noir and Westerns. once he started to age. THE CROOKED WAY, EL PASO, LARCENY, SANTA FE PASSAGE, 99 RIVER STREET, RAILS INTO LARAMIE, HELL’S ISLAND to just name a few.
Gordon
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I thoroughly enjoyed THE CROOKED WAY, LARCENY and 99 RIVER STREET. Payne certainly was a very good fit for film noir.
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I like the fact Payne finished off his acting career on a bit of a high point in that very fine Columbo episode opposite Janet Leigh.
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An excellent bit of television. In fact the entire Columbo series was great.
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Agreed, with the exception of Last Salute to the Commodore it never really put a foot wrong.
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LOL There is always one or two misfires in most series. Last Salute to the Commodore was directed by actor Patrick McGoohan. I watched this one again about 7-8 years ago and cannot say it grabbed me in the least.
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McGoohan’s contributions to the series, on both sides of the camera, were generally out of the top drawer, which I find has the effect of making that particular episode even more galling.
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I think McGoohan was trying to be a bit too clever. If you look back at his extraordinary career in British television in the 60s he was always a brilliant but erratic talent. The Prisoner was an amazing achievement but towards the end he seemed to lose his grip a bit, as if he just didn’t quite know how to end the series.
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I think he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do with The Prisoner, and I also feel he knew what he wanted from Last Salute to the Commodore. In the latter’s case, however, it simply doesn’t work in the context of the show.
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I think Patrick McGoohan was a ‘class’ act. At one point the most popular star of British TV. I loved DANGER MAN, both the half-hour series and the later hour-long shows, and I find it stands up very well to this day.
Perhaps because of my enjoyment of the above I was completely thrown by THE PRISONER at the time. I’ve never revisited it either, which is probably my loss.
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Danger Man was a great series, both the original half-hour version and the one-hour version. The second greatest British TV spy series ever made (Callan of course was the greatest).
Of course McGoohan fans have a lot of fun debating whether the John Drake of the one-hour Danger Man series was the same man as the John Drake of the half-hour series, and whether John Drake and Number 6 are the same man.
I loved The Prisoner, with just a couple of very minor reservations about the last couple of episodes which seemed just a tiny bit confused. But then McGoohan probably intended them to be perplexing.
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Hi, folks – a heads up that Imprint’s Essential Film Noir: Collection 4 has been released. The 5 movies included are Rope of Sand (1949), Appointment with Danger (1950), The Enforcer(1951), Beware My Lovely (1952) & Jennifer (1953). On Blu and Imprint’s transfers are usually nicely crisp and clean.
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Good news. Purely from a cost perspective though, I very much hope the two Lupino films at least are released somewhere in Europe in the future.
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I loved Rope of Sand and Appointment with Danger. And Beware My Lovely doesn’t quite come off but it is weirdly fascinating.
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Had mine on order for some time now.
I’m excited about this set as I don’t have any of the films in my collection. JENNIFER is a real oddity an Allied Artists quickie from a director nobody’s heard of. (Lupino perhaps?) Imprint’s extras are always very good.
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While I don’t think Beware, My Lovely is anything special, I’d be pleased to have a good quality version on disc and, like you, I’m intrigued by Jennifer.
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Nothing wrong with HIGH WALL ‘though I prefer Audrey Totter in Femme Fatale mode; our first sight of her-the way she gums a hamburger in TENSION we know she’s trash. Audrey is certainly a Noir icon she made enough good ones.
ANGEL FACE in high def is good news but like Wilder Preminger lost the plot certainly after HURRY SUNDOWN with Caine dreadful and fatally miscast. BUDDY BUDDY is an horrendous picture-stick with the French original a far superior movie altogether.
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Seeing Audrey Totter’s name in the cast list is always a good thing in my opinion, regardless of the role. I tend to like seeing her play bad characters, but she did just fine when she was on the side of the angels too. Her part in Wise’s The Set-Up is a case in point.
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Hurry Sundown came out in 1967 which in retrospect was the most catastrophic year in movie history. The year Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate were released, two movies which were an ominous sign for the future.
The 60s was a decade in which so much went wrong for movies. It saw the rise of dreary pretentious film movements like the Nouvelle Vague, the British New Wave, the New German Cinema, the New American Cinema. Film industries across the world forgot how to make good movies.
It also saw the rise of the film school crowd. Which demonstrated convincingly that you cannot learn to make movies at film school.
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I haven’t seen a huge number of Curtis Bernhardt’s movies. I thought Beau Brummel was interesting. I hated Miss Sadie Thompson (Maugham’s story was unfilmable in 1953). I have vague memories of Possessed and A Stolen Life but I honestly can’t remember if I liked them.
I would like to see Devotion.
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If you enjoy melodrama, I’d recommend checking out Payment on Demand and My Reputation.
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Folks
I have always found it difficult to name a best of any actor or genre. But here is a stab at my best 5 Robert Taylor films. They are listed in no particular order and all rate the same for me.
ROUGE COP -1954
BATAAN – 1943
SADDLE THE WIND -1955
THE LAW AND JAKE WADE -1958
DEVIL S DOORWAY 1950
Gordon
i
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Personally, I’d switch Bataan for The Last Hunt.
I realize that would leave the group very heavy on westerns, but so be it. Bataan is a good movie, tense and genuinely poignant in places, but the characterization Taylor achieves in The Last Hunt, and the contrast/conflict with Granger’s character elevates it.
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Hi Gordon,
Those are all top notch Taylor vehicles along with the Last Hunt. For me…..when I consider the best film he either costarred or stared in it would have to be 1940’S WATERLOO BRIDGE co-starring with Vivian Leigh.
Interesting note……in the movie’s trailer co-star Taylor gets first mention with Leigh following. But in the film credits Vivian Leigh gets the top billing.
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Waterloo Bridge is an excellent movie and I think its reputation remains strong. It’s one of the best of Taylor’s earlier films, maybe the best, although I think I’d rate it for the overall experience rather than just Taylor’s contribution.
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Yes Colin, you explained it perfectly. An excellent performance in an outstanding film. It’s my understanding that both Taylor and Leigh regard WATERLOO BRIDGE as their most favorite film to be a part of. This movie and pre-Code ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932) are my two favorite romantic/drama films. Both beautifully acted, excellently written, a wonderful musical score and expertly directed (Mervyn LeRoy & Tay Garnett, resp).
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I’ve only seen the 1931 Waterloo Bridge, which I hated. Not surprising, since it is a James Whale movie. Horrible acting. The best I can say for Mae Clarke is that she’s marginally less awful than the other cast members. A since it’s a James Whale movie we get typical female grotesques providing comic relief. I’ve always had the feeling that Whale really hated women.
I should give the 1940 version a watch.
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Scott S and Colin
It was a close call for me not to include THE LAST HUNT in my selections. I did go with BATAAN because I do enjoy a good war film. As for WATERLOO ROAD, It is another Taylor film that I have never seen. But off your comments I am adding it to my must see list. Thanks.
Gordon
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THE LAST HUNT is a well produced movie that hits home with the depiction of dark events of the ‘New Frontier’. But honestly, the stark horrible treatment of Native Americans and the slaughtering of buffalo was difficult to watch. I cringed every time a round was fired and a buffalo went down. Weird……I had seen this movie a few times over the years and it didn’t bother me then but does now. I doubt I will ever take in again. However, I must say Taylor’s Charlie Gilson was a real piece of work wasn’t he?
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It has an unflinching quality that is probably unusual for the era and I think it’s intentionally so, seeking to draw attention to the less savory elements which form the theme. Some scenes are indeed hard to watch but serve to highlight the anguish experienced by Sandy, the rugged nature of the road he must negotiate before earning his redemption, and also the dark soul of Charlie.
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Taylor’s playing of Gilson showed without shadow of a doubt what a fine actor he was. I remember being horrified the first time I saw THE LAST HUNT by the never-ending slaughter of the buffalo and it doesn’t become easier with time. Remarkable film though.
I’d like to shout out for WESTWARD THE WOMEN (1952) as a very good film in his CV.
When his long-running contract with MGM ended Taylor starred in 96 episodes of THE DETECTIVES on TV. Anyone know that series? I’ve seen most or all the episodes and like it a lot.
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Westward the Women is a good one, a characteristically strong piece of work from Wellman and an interesting story. I wrote a bit on it back in the early days of this blog here.
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I like Westward the Women as well. Good duster.
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Jerry
THE DETECTIVES is a series I really like. Seen quite a few of them and have the entire series in my mess of a storage locker.
Gord
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Coming up on TCM here is a trio of dusters I have never seen. LONE STAR, THE FIRST TEXAN and COW COUNTRY. Clark Gable is the lead in the first, Joel McCrea the second and Edmond O’Brien the last one. Colin has a review up on the first one. Comments about the others would help.
Gord
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I would say that all 3 are worth viewing, Gord. LONE STAR having the biggest budget of course. THE FIRST TEXAN is certainly worth a look though it is not among my favourite McCreas (but then that bar is set high).
COW COUNTRY is a bit of a sleeper, a low-budget but well-made, well-acted solid little western.
Be interesting to hear your own feedback on all three.
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