Whirlpool

Author: Gene Tierney

Format: PAL

Details: WHIRLPOOL A film by Otto Preminger Whirlpool is an intriguing blend of film noir and women’s picture. Gene Tierney stars as Laura, Preminger’s first big success, here plays the well-dressed wife of a successful psychoanalyst, played with chilling remoteness by Richard Conte. When arrested for shoplifting, she is saved from inevitable scandal by the intervention of a suave but slightly sinister hypnotist (Jos Ferrer). However, the salvation proves deceptive and she soon finds herself enmeshed in a web of blackmail and murder. The script is by Ben Hecht, one of Hollywood’s most brilliant screenwriters, who, according to Hitchcock, was ‘in constant touch with prominent psychoanalysts’. Preminger turns the story into an examination of people – and a marriage – under stress, and the conventional ending does little to dispel his somewhat bleak vision. The film may have a noirish theme, but the plot unfolds in a sumptuously photographed world of glossy interiors, luxurious dcor and expensive clothes. DVD extras include Director’s Biography and Screenwriter’s Biography. USA 1950 black & white Optional hard-of-hearing subtitles 93 minutes Ratio 1.33:1 Region 2 DVD

Package Dimensions: 15x180x83