There must be a reason. There’s always a reason for everything. Architect Jeff Cohalan (Robert Young) is haunted by the death of his fiancée Vivian Sheppard (Shirley Ballard) the boss Ben’s (Henry O’Neill) daughter the previous year. He sequesters himself in the modernist clifftop house he designed for himself and his beloved and broods over the incredible string of bad luck he has experienced since her death. His horse breaks its leg in its stable, his dog dies, his rose bush suddenly dies and a striking watercolour portrait by a dead local artist is deteriorating despite not being exposed to sunlight. Fortunately, his neighbour Amelia Foster’s (Florence Bates) CPA niece Ellen (Betsy Drake) a newcomer who has encountered Jeff on the train, takes an interest in his travails, and is determined to discover the real cause behind his misfortune, seemingly engineered by his workplace rival Keith Ferris (John Sutton) who has just divorced office secretary Dodo (Jean Rogers) and now has his sights on old Sheppard’s fortune. Local doctor Hartley (Morris Carnovsky) is convinced Jeff is mentally ill, guiltily replaying his suffering after taking the blame for Vivian’s death … Six accidents and every one of them killed something you love. It takes a while for this film noir-ish mystery to kick into gear but after the distraction of some on-the-nose dialogue, a poor score and the kind of shooting style familiar from live TV plays of the period it soon assumes the mantle of a clever gaslighting in reverse – a man is the victim in a drama displaying several Gothic tropes: a spooky portrait, a staircase, flashbacks, distinct shades of paranoia and all set in the interesting and highly dramatic seaside backdrop of Costa Del Rey, California, with waves as crashing accompaniment to the downfall of a decent man. Naturally the psychological element is personified in the local (but invariably European) GP who thinks he knows more about psychiatry than he possibly could and peddles the idea that persecuted Jeff is nuts: Interesting subject – who’s sane and who isn’t. Young’s affability is nimbly exploited as even his professional reputation is shattered while Drake is given one of her rare significant leads, both controlling the outcome and occasionally lending her thoughts to the voiceover, a welcome instance of a woman’s agency and investigative capacity in this sub-genre. Ferris practically twirls his moustache as the smarmy pantomime villain of the piece. A most unusual modern paranoid man’s thriller with plenty of good aspects to override the occasionally problematic direction by James V. Kern who did one more feature and then had a prolific career in television. Written by Mort Briskin & Robert Smith. Perhaps that’s why a woman gets out of proportion to a man
mondomovies 