My Name is Julia Ross
Encyclopedia
My Name is Julia Ross is a film noir
directed by Joseph H. Lewis, based on the novel The Woman in Red by Anthony Gilbert
. This drama is the first in a series of film noir
s directed by Lewis and features Nina Foch
, Dame May Whitty, George Macready
.
.
All her possessions have disappeared and the young woman is told she is really Marion, the wife of Ralph Hughes (George Macready), Mrs. Hughes' son. The staff have been told that she has suffered a nervous breakdown
; as a result, they ignore her seemingly wild claims and her attempts to escape are all foiled.
Julia writes a letter to her only close friend and admirer, Dennis Bruce (Roland Varno), and cleverly leaves it where it can be found. The Hughes substitute a blank sheet of paper and allow her to post it, unaware that Julia has anticipated them and written a second letter. Even so, when a "doctor" comes in response to a fake poisoning attempt, she blurts out her plan to him, only to discover that he (along with Mrs. Sparkes) is in on the scheme. He is dispatched to London to intercept the letter. When the real doctor shows up, Julia refuses to see him. The doctor recommends she be taken to a hospital immediately, but Mrs. Hughes persuades him to come back in the morning.
That night, Julia discovers a secret passage to her room and overhears Ralph admit to his mother that he murdered his real wife in a fit of rage and disposed of her body in the sea. Julia's captors have to make it appear that she has committed suicide before the doctor can take her away.
Julia throws her gown out the window, making it look like she threw herself to her death, then hides in the secret passage. When the doctor drives up, Mrs. Hughes delays him so that her son can get to the body first. Ralph picks up a rock to ensure that Julia is really dead, but is stopped by Dennis and a policeman, alerted by the letter. When Ralph tries to flee, he is shot down.
magazine praised the production, writing, "Mystery melodrama with a psychological twist runs only 64 minutes but it's fast and packed with tense action throughout. Acting and production (though apparently modestly budgeted) are excellent."
Channel 4's film review lauded the work of the director, and wrote, "Think of this as the 1945 equivalent of the modern-day US indie hit. This ultra low-budget B-movie thriller set new standards in small-scale film-making and so impressed makers Columbia Pictures that Lewis's shooting schedule was almost doubled."
(1987
), directed by Arthur Penn
.
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Joseph H. Lewis, based on the novel The Woman in Red by Anthony Gilbert
Anthony Gilbert
Anthony Gilbert may refer to:*Anthony Gilbert *Anthony Gilbert *Anthony Gilbert -See also:*Tony Gilbert, Antonio Gilbert, American football player...
. This drama is the first in a series of film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
s directed by Lewis and features Nina Foch
Nina Foch
Nina Foch was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.- Personal life :...
, Dame May Whitty, George Macready
George Macready
George Peabody Macready, Jr. , was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains.-Background:...
.
Plot
In London, Julia Ross (Foch) goes to a new employment agency, desperate for work. When Mrs. Sparkes (Anita Sharp-Bolster) learns that she has no near relations, she recommends Julia for a job as a live-in personal secretary to a wealthy widow, Mrs. Hughes (Dame May Whitty). Mrs. Hughes approves and insists that she move that very night into her house. Two days later, Julia awakens a prisoner at an isolated seaside estate in CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
All her possessions have disappeared and the young woman is told she is really Marion, the wife of Ralph Hughes (George Macready), Mrs. Hughes' son. The staff have been told that she has suffered a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
; as a result, they ignore her seemingly wild claims and her attempts to escape are all foiled.
Julia writes a letter to her only close friend and admirer, Dennis Bruce (Roland Varno), and cleverly leaves it where it can be found. The Hughes substitute a blank sheet of paper and allow her to post it, unaware that Julia has anticipated them and written a second letter. Even so, when a "doctor" comes in response to a fake poisoning attempt, she blurts out her plan to him, only to discover that he (along with Mrs. Sparkes) is in on the scheme. He is dispatched to London to intercept the letter. When the real doctor shows up, Julia refuses to see him. The doctor recommends she be taken to a hospital immediately, but Mrs. Hughes persuades him to come back in the morning.
That night, Julia discovers a secret passage to her room and overhears Ralph admit to his mother that he murdered his real wife in a fit of rage and disposed of her body in the sea. Julia's captors have to make it appear that she has committed suicide before the doctor can take her away.
Julia throws her gown out the window, making it look like she threw herself to her death, then hides in the secret passage. When the doctor drives up, Mrs. Hughes delays him so that her son can get to the body first. Ralph picks up a rock to ensure that Julia is really dead, but is stopped by Dennis and a policeman, alerted by the letter. When Ralph tries to flee, he is shot down.
Cast
- Nina FochNina FochNina Foch was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.- Personal life :...
as Julia Ross - Dame May Whitty as Mrs. Hughes
- George MacreadyGeorge MacreadyGeorge Peabody Macready, Jr. , was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains.-Background:...
as Ralph Hughes - Roland VarnoRoland VarnoRoland Varno was a character actor from Utrecht, Netherlands. He appeared in dozens of films in the 1930s and 1940s including the Return of the Vampire, My Name is Juila Ross, Gunga Din, Three Faces West, Women in Bondage, Three's a Crowd, Flight to Nowhere and Scared to Death.Varno also appeared...
as Dennis Bruce - Anita Sharp-Bolster as Sparkes
- Doris LloydDoris LloydHessy Doris Lloyd was an English actress.She appeared in over 150 films between 1920 and 1967, including the 1933 low-budget Monogram Pictures version of Oliver Twist, in which she played Nancy...
as Mrs. Mackie
Critical reception
The staff at VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine praised the production, writing, "Mystery melodrama with a psychological twist runs only 64 minutes but it's fast and packed with tense action throughout. Acting and production (though apparently modestly budgeted) are excellent."
Channel 4's film review lauded the work of the director, and wrote, "Think of this as the 1945 equivalent of the modern-day US indie hit. This ultra low-budget B-movie thriller set new standards in small-scale film-making and so impressed makers Columbia Pictures that Lewis's shooting schedule was almost doubled."
Adaptation
The film was remade as Dead of WinterDead of Winter
Dead of Winter is a thriller film made in 1987 It was directed by Arthur Penn and is a remake of the 1945 film My Name Is Julia Ross and stars Mary Steenburgen who plays three roles in the film.-Plot:...
(1987
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
), directed by Arthur Penn
Arthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn was an American film director and producer with a career as a theater director as well. Penn amassed a critically acclaimed body of work throughout the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
.