Cause for Alarm!
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''Cause for Alarm!'' is a 1951
melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
suspense film directed by
Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...
, written by
Mel Dinelli Amelio "Mel" Dinelli (6 October 1912, Albuquerque, New Mexico – 28 November 1991, Los Angeles, California) was an American writer for theatre, radio, film and magazines, usually in the suspense genre. He grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and ...
and Tom Lewis, based on a story by Larry Marcus. Ellen (
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
) narrates the tale of "the most terrifying day of my life", how she was taking care of her bedridden husband George Z. Jones (
Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...
) when he suddenly dropped dead.. The film is in the public domain.


Plot

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Ellen works as a nurse in a naval hospital. While dating Lieutenant Ranney Grahame, a military doctor with a busy schedule that leaves him with little time for her, Ellen meets Ranney's friend George Jones, a pilot. Ellen falls deeply in love with George and marries him after leaving Ranney on amicable terms. When the war ends, Ellen and George move into a suburban
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
neighborhood. Years later, not all is well with the young couple. George has proven to be selfish, petty, and domineering, and Ellen feels unfulfilled because they have yet to have any children. Despite this, Ellen still loves her husband, and when he begins suffering heart problems, she tirelessly cares for him with the help of Ranney, who periodically visits in his capacity as George's personal physician. During a heat wave, George's illness is exacerbated and he is bedridden. He also becomes increasingly delusional, to the point that Ranney concludes he needs psychological help. George begins suspecting that Ellen and Ranney are having an affair, and that Ellen is trying to kill him by giving him overdoses of his heart medication. He writes a letter to the district attorney accusing Ellen and Ranney of conspiring to murder him, then gives the letter to Ellen to send in the mail. Ellen dutifully hands the letter to the postman, thinking it is correspondence with their insurance company. When Ellen returns to George's room, she finds him out of bed and manic. He informs his wife of the letter's contents and then brandishes a gun at her, declaring that he has arranged the situation so that he can shoot her and justify it as self-defense. Before George can pull the trigger, however, he collapses on the bed and dies. Realizing that George's letter could still frame her as his murderer, Ellen rushes out of the house to retrieve it, but obstacle after obstacle gets in her way. She catches up to the postman only for the postman to insist that George must request the letter be returned himself, otherwise Ellen must take the issue up with the supervisor of the local post office before the letter is sent out for delivery. Meanwhile, George's snobbish aunt Clara arrives at the Jones residence to visit George. Ellen manages to return in time to prevent Clara from entering George's bedroom and finding his body, and persuades her to leave by truthfully stating that George did not want to see his aunt, as she had upset him on a previous visit. After tidying up her disheveled appearance in preparation for visiting the post office, Ellen then notices the gun still in George's hand and decides to remove and hide it. It fires a bullet into the floor while the room's window is open, but only the neighbor boy Billy hears and he mistakes it for a toy. Then a notary arrives for an appointment with George, and Ellen sends him away by insisting her husband is too ill to see visitors. As Ellen departs by car, she narrowly avoids running over Billy in her haste. Finally at the post office, the supervisor gives Ellen a form to reclaim the letter that must be signed by George, but by this point Ellen is so frantic and desperate that her behavior irks the supervisor, and he decides to send the letter onward regardless. Ellen returns home, defeated. When Ranney arrives to check on George's condition, he calms Ellen and enters the bedroom, where he takes stock of his dead friend, the bullet hole in the floor, and the gun in the dresser. After repositioning George's body in the bed, he allows Ellen to explain what happened. When she is finished with her tale, the doorbell rings. Ellen despairs, believing the police have come to arrest her, but opens the door at Ranney's urging. She finds the postman has come to return George's letter due to it having insufficient postage. Ellen is overcome with relief, and Ranney tears up the letter and burns the pieces.


Cast

*
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
as Ellen Jones *
Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...
as George Z. Jones *
Bruce Cowling Bruce Cowling (October 30, 1919 – August 22, 1986) was a film and television actor in the 1940s and 1950s. The Oklahoma-born actor appeared in twenty films including ''Song of the Thin Man'' (1947), '' Battleground'' (1949), ''Ambush'' (1950 ...
as Dr. Ranney Grahame *
Margalo Gillmore Margaret Lorraine "Margalo" Gillmore (31 May 1897 – 30 June 1986) was an English-born American actress who had a long career as a stage actress on Broadway. She also appeared in films and TV series, mostly in the 1950s and early 1960s. Family ...
as aunt Clara Edwards * Bradley Mora as Hoppy (Billy) *
Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jose ...
as Joe Carston, the postman *
Georgia Backus Georgia Belden Backus (October 13, 1901 – September 7, 1983) was an American character actress on stage, radio and screen. She was also a writer, director and producer of radio dramas. In 1930 she was named dramatic director of the Columbia Bro ...
as Mrs. Warren, the neighbor *
Don Haggerty Don Haggerty (July 3, 1914 – August 19, 1988) was an American actor of film and television. Early life and education Before he began appearing in films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the United States Army f ...
as Mr. Russell, the notary * Art Baker as the post office superintendent *
Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in b ...
as the wounded sailor at a naval hospital


Production

Director
Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...
thoroughly prepared both cast and crew and the film was shot in 14 days, a rather tight schedule for the era (Young reportedly used the same pre-production technique for her TV series a few years later).
André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
wrote the score. ''Cause for Alarm!'' is among a few 1950s era
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
films which apparently lapsed into the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
after their copyrights were not renewed in the 1970s. As with all PD MGM feature-length films produced by the studio itself (and possibly a few they merely distributed), the original film elements are now owned by
Turner Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...
, with distribution rights handled by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
(who spoofed the title in one of their 1954 short subject cartoons, ''
Claws for Alarm ''Claws for Alarm'' is a 1954 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on May 22, 1954 and stars Porky Pig and Sylvester. It is the second of three cartoons teaming Porky and Sylvester, continuing ...
'').


Casting notes

The film's producer Tom Lewis considered
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
for the lead role before giving it to his wife Loretta Young.Tooze, Gary W
''Cause for Alarm!''
review. ''DVD Beaver'', 2007. Accessed: May 17, 2020.
Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jose ...
(a character actor who appeared in over 400 films during his career) was already widely known as the weary postman in the popular ''Blondie'' series of 28 films a decade earlier when he was cast as the postman chased by Ellen. Bradley Mora was a noted child actor on Broadway and had appeared in the 1950 filmed version of '' Annie Get Your Gun''.
Margalo Gillmore Margaret Lorraine "Margalo" Gillmore (31 May 1897 – 30 June 1986) was an English-born American actress who had a long career as a stage actress on Broadway. She also appeared in films and TV series, mostly in the 1950s and early 1960s. Family ...
's successful acting career on Broadway stretched back to the late teens and
Georgia Backus Georgia Belden Backus (October 13, 1901 – September 7, 1983) was an American character actress on stage, radio and screen. She was also a writer, director and producer of radio dramas. In 1930 she was named dramatic director of the Columbia Bro ...
(the kindly neighbor gardening next door) had a small role in
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
' ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' ten years before.
Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in b ...
went on to a long and successful career as a supporting actor on US television. Former child star
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer Carl Dean Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American singer, child actor, dog breeder, and guide. He was best known for his role as Alfalfa in the short subjects series '' Our Gang''. Switzer began his career as a child ...
(of
Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...
's ''
Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...
'' comedy shorts) has a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
as a man repairing a
hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...
car.


Filming locations

Some of the production involved location shooting on residential side streets near
Melrose Avenue Melrose Avenue is a shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts at Santa Monica Boulevard, at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. It ends at Lucile Avenue in Silver Lake. Melrose runs north of Beve ...
in Hollywood, California. As seen in the film, the actual address of the main filming location was 116 North Oakhurst Dr., one block south of Beverly Drive, until the house was demolished in the mid-1950s and has since been replaced. Neighboring houses also seen in the film which surrounded the location on Oakhurst Drive and Plymouth Avenue are still standing.


Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $518,000 in the US and Canada and $250,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $174,000.


Critical response

When the film was released in 1951, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' film critic,
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
, wrote, "Here a simple situation is turned into a thoroughly chilling business by highlighting the most humdrum staples of the everyday American scene ... ''Cause for Alarm!'' proves more than anything else that superior writing, directing and acting - and some imagination - can make a little go a long way ... The suspense, under Director Tay Garnett, mounts steadily, almost unbearably, until a final plot twist so original that it's almost a swindle." Although Crowther criticized the casting of "newcomer"
Bruce Cowling Bruce Cowling (October 30, 1919 – August 22, 1986) was a film and television actor in the 1940s and 1950s. The Oklahoma-born actor appeared in twenty films including ''Song of the Thin Man'' (1947), '' Battleground'' (1949), ''Ambush'' (1950 ...
as Ranney, calling his performance "wooden", he had only praise for Young, writing "she does splendidly as the desperate housewife, avoiding all the pitfalls, even in her hysterical breakdown at the end." ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine characterized the film "as the year's first thriller with an honest quota of thrills. It pulls off the old
Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
trick of giving commonplace people, events and settings a sinister meaning, and it develops its simple, one-track idea with frightening logic." ''Time's'' review also noted the strong supporting performances of
Margalo Gillmore Margaret Lorraine "Margalo" Gillmore (31 May 1897 – 30 June 1986) was an English-born American actress who had a long career as a stage actress on Broadway. She also appeared in films and TV series, mostly in the 1950s and early 1960s. Family ...
and
Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jose ...
along with the film's "quiet, sunny atmosphere of a pleasant residential street" in Los Angeles. However, in later decades the film was widely ignored (falling into the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
) and the few retrospective reviews were less flattering.
François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...
's short overview of ''Cause for Alarm!'' was kinder than many when he wrote, "But all those effects hit home, perfectly timed, and isn't that what counts?" 21st century reviews have tended towards Truffaut's take along with citing the film's suburban noir setting. Critic Craig Butler also cites the performances of Gillmore and Bacon, along with describing the cinematography by
Joseph Ruttenberg Joseph Ruttenberg, A.S.C. (July 4, 1889 – May 1, 1983) was a Ukrainian-born American photojournalist and cinematographer. Ruttenberg was accomplished at winning accolades. At MGM, Ruttenberg was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinema ...
and score by
André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
as "huge pluses." Sean Axmaker calls ''Cause for Alarm!'' "An unusual entry into the film noir school of paranoia" which "trades the dark alleys and long shadows of urban menace for the sunny, tree-lined streets of middle-class domesticity" whilst noting, "Young's deadened narration adds an eerie mood of doom to the suburban setting."Axmaker, Sean
Editorial review to ''Film Noir Vol. 1: The Stranger/Cause For Alarm!''
Amazon.com. No date. Accessed: August 9, 2013.


See also

*
List of films in the public domain in the United States Most films are subject to copyright, but those listed here are believed to be in the public domain in the United States. This means that no government, organization, or individual owns any copyright over the work, and as such it is common property ...


References


External links

* * * * *
''Cause for Alarm!''
film trailer at
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
Media Room {{Tay Garnett 1951 films 1950s thriller films American black-and-white films American thriller films 1950s English-language films Film noir Films about death Films directed by Tay Garnett Films scored by André Previn Films set in Los Angeles Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1951 drama films Melodrama films 1950s American films