Événement

NOIR CITY 19: They Tried to Warn Us! THE ACCUSED

1:00
THE ACCUSED
1949, Paramount [Library of Congress]. 101 minutes
Screenplay by Ketti Frings, from the novel Be Still, My Love by June Truesdell
Produced by Hal Wallis
Directed by William Dieterle

Demure college professor Wilma Tuttle (Loretta Young) finds herself in jeopardy after killing an overly amorous student in self-defense. As the noose tightens around her, both the victim's guardian (Robert Cummings) and a dogged homicide detective (Wendell Corey) pursue her. Apparently, being a suspected killer makes Wilma irresistible to men. June Truesdell's 1947 novel Be Still, My Love, adapted by Ketti Frings, puts a decidedly feminine slant on a classic noir premise. It's also the rare noir where both the source novel and the screenplay are the work of women. Frings had a resume similar to many male colleagues in Hollywood; she'd worked as a newspaper correspondent, ad writer, and PR agent before scoring with her first novel, Hold Back the Dawn, adapted to film in 1941 by Billy Wilder. The Accused is a prescient psychological thriller that presaged "MeToo" by many decades.

Cast: Loretta Young (Wilma Tuttle), Robert Cummings (Warren Ford), Wendell Corey (Lt. Ted Dorgan), Sam Jaffe (Dr. Romley), Douglas Dick (Bill Perry), Suzanne Dalbert (Susan Duval), George Spaulding (Dean Rhodes), Sara Allgood (Mrs. Conner), Mickey Knox (Jack Hunter), Francis Pierlot (Dr. Vinson), Ann Doran (Miss Rice), Carol Mathews (waitress)

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