film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
thriller directed by
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor.
He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...
and written by
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...
and Andrew Solt, adapted from the 1946 novel ''Methinks the Lady...'' by
Guy Endore
Samuel Guy Endore (July 4, 1901 – February 12, 1970), born Samuel Goldstein and also known as Harry Relis, was an American novelist and screenwriter. During his career he produced a wide array of novels, screenplays, and pamphlets, both publish ...
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
c wife of a wealthy Los Angeles psychoanalyst who, after a chance meeting with a
hypnotist
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
, is charged with a violent murder.
Owing to anti-British statements screenwriter Hecht had made in the recent past concerning the United Kingdom's involvement in Israel, prints of the film initially circulated in the country replaced his credit with the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
Lester Barstow.
Plot
Ann Sutton, the wife of Dr. William Sutton, a successful
psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...
, is caught shoplifting in an upscale
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 ...
department store, and loses consciousness when apprehended. She is saved from scandal by smooth-talking
hypnotist
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
David Korvo, who persuades the store officials to put the mermaid pin she stole on her credit account, and not prosecute. Korvo pressures Ann into coming to lunch with him, and she is relieved when, instead of accepting the blackmail payment she thinks he is after, he tears up her check and the store record of her shoplifting, and promises to help her.
Ann, overcome with shame surrounding her secret, begins experiencing
insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
. She attends a sophisticated party with Korvo, where she meets Theresa Randolph, a former lover of Korvo's and one of William's patients. Korvo hypnotizes Ann at the party and instructs her to sleep, which works, but she does not respond to other orders. Ann meets Korvo at the hotel where he lives for further therapy sessions, but refuses to go up to his suite and insists on talking in public in the hotel bar. Korvo distracts her and takes the martini glass with her fingerprints on it, as well as her scarf.
Later that night, Ann enters a
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
, takes two vinyl records from her husband's patient archives and brings them to Theresa's house, where she hides them in a closet before discovering Theresa's murdered body in the den. Ann's entry into the home sets off a silent alarm, and police arrive moments later. Before regaining full lucidity, Ann confesses to hating Theresa. Her scarf is found in the home, and the martini glass is found in Korvo's apartment. Police charge her with murder, presuming she strangled Theresa out of jealousy over Korvo.
Ann's husband, William, and his lawyer, Martin Avery, believe she is innocent and that Korvo framed her. William recalls that Theresa had informed him during their therapy sessions that Korvo had extorted her for $60,000. It is found, however, that Korvo has a cast-iron alibi: at the time of the murder and ever since, he has been in the hospital weak and prostrate after a gall bladder operation. The police lieutenant in charge of the case, Colton, is sure this rules him out as a suspect.
When William leaves the police station, Avery and Colton persuade Ann to confess her real guilt. Instead, she only confesses to her
kleptomania
Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main cha ...
, stemming from her
indigent
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
childhood; when William wanted her to ignore her own riches and live on his small salary at the beginning of their marriage, he triggered Ann's childhood trauma, and she returned to her habit of shoplifting. When William hears of this, he surmises that Ann's kleptomania made her an easy target for Korvo to get her to steal Theresa's patient records from him; he also suspects that Korvo used
self-hypnosis
Self-hypnosis or auto-hypnosis (as distinct from hetero-hypnosis) is a form, a process, or the result of a self-induced hypnotic state.
Frequently, self-hypnosis is used as a vehicle to enhance the efficacy of self-suggestion; and, in such case ...
to make himself temporarily strong enough to leave his hospital bed and go strangle Theresa. William's theory accounts for Korvo's apparent spike in body temperature observed by the medical personnel on the day of Theresa's murder. William presents his theory to Colton and suggests they bring Ann to Theresa's home to find the records, but Colton dismisses him.
In the hospital, a nurse casually comments to Korvo about the search for Theresa's patient records. Korvo hypnotizes himself again, sneaks out of the hospital, and drives to Theresa's house, where he retrieves the records and starts playing them: They reveal Theresa's voice implicating Korvo in her extortion. Simultaneously, after some contemplation, Colton comes to believe William's theory may be true, and he accompanies him and Ann to Theresa's house. Once there, Korvo menaces Ann with a gun, attempting to force William and Colton out of the room. As his trance begins to wear off, Korvo realizes he is bleeding to death from his surgical wound. In a moment of bravado, he tries to flee the house, but collapses and dies. Colton releases Ann into the care of her husband, and they happily embrace.
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
Fortunio Bonanova
Fortunio Bonanova, pseudonym of Josep Lluís Moll, (13 January 1895 – 2 April 1969) was a Spanish baritone singer and a film, theater, and television actor. He occasionally worked as a producer and director.
According to Lluis Fàbregas Cuixar ...
as Feruccio di Ravallo
Release
''Whirlpool'' was released theatrically in the United States on January 13, 1950.
Critical response
The staff at ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' liked the film and wrote, "''Whirlpool'' is a highly entertaining, exciting melodrama that combines the authentic features of hypnosis. Ben Hecht and Andrew Solt have tightly woven a screenplay rom a novel by Guy Endoreabout the effects of hypnosis on the subconscious, but they, and Otto Preminger in his direction, have eliminated the phoney characteristics that might easily have allowed the picture to slither into becoming just another eerie melodrama."
While ''
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 ...
gave the film a mixed review, he still appreciated the acting, and wrote, "Yet, as we say, this flapdoodle, written by Ben Hecht and Andrew Solt from a novel by Guy Endore, has been handsomely produced and played by a cast which is distinguished by José Ferrer in its midst. Mr. Ferrer, the Broadway champion, is the smooth and piercing villain of the piece who mouths Mr. Hecht's silken phrases with acid savor and burns folks with his eyes. Furthermore, haughty Gene Tierney plays the lady who is slightly off the track and Charles Bickford and Richard Conte are the detective and the husband, respectively. All together, along with several others, they labor to cast a spell. But their efforts are bleakly artificial. You'd better see this one in a state of trance."
Much later, the UK's
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
also gave the film a mixed review, but lauded the screenplay and direction. They wrote, "All this is fairly ridiculous and the plot is full of implausible twists, not to mention daft theories. Luckily, Tierney carries the role of the innocent beauty with ease and has a particularly good line in gliding around blank-faced as if under hypnosis – and in showing her character's subsequent distraught confusion. Conte is stiff and wooden – but no more so than his formal man-of-science role requires, while Ferrer is a compelling cartoon villain. Hecht's dialogue is as snappy as ever, and Preminger cranks up the tension with consummate skill, building towards a dramatic and satisfying conclusion."
Home media
''Whirlpool'' was released on DVD by 20th Century Fox as part of their "Film Noir" collection in 2005. In October 2019, Twilight Time released a
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
Mental illness in film
This is a non-exhaustive list of films which have portrayed mental disorders.
Inclusion in this list is based upon the disorder as it is portrayed in the canon of the film, and does not necessarily reflect the diagnosis or symptoms in the real wor ...
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...