Strange Illusion
Encyclopedia
Strange Illusion is a 1945
American film noir
directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. According to noir historian Spencer Selby the film is, "A stylish cheapie by the recognized master of stylish cheapies."
and was influenced further by Freudian
dream analysis, but it was unconvincing as a melodrama, the script was weak, the plot was full of holes and the acting was as lame as it gets...What's interesting is that the film is shot as an intense dream sequence in shadowy black-and-white hues and its sense of delirium powerfully filters through the story almost wiping away the unconvincing heavy-handed performances of the villains and the mummified acting by the leads. It's a film where Ulmer's unique style and his film noir moody interjections work better than the deviative mystery story." Critic Matthew Sorrento of Film Threat also lauded the film: "Though saddled with the script’s fetish for Freud, Ulmer stylizes his thriller without sending it adrift. Like his other great films, Strange Illusion is a shaggy quickie that takes fine shape throughout."
1945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
American 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...
directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. According to noir historian Spencer Selby the film is, "A stylish cheapie by the recognized master of stylish cheapies."
Plot summary
An adolescent believes that his widowed mother's suitor may have murdered his father.Cast
- Jimmy LydonJimmy LydonJimmy Lydon is an American movie actor and television producer, whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenage actor in the 1930s....
as Paul Cartwright - Warren WilliamWarren WilliamWarren William was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, popular during the early 1930s, who was later nicknamed the "king of Pre-Code". He was born Warren William Krech in Aitkin, Minnesota to parents Freeman E. and Frances Krech. He had a certain physical resemblance to John Barrymore. He attended the...
as Brett Curtis - Sally EilersSally Eilers-Life and career:Born as Dorothea Sally Eilers in New York City to a Jewish-American mother, Paula, and an Irish-American father, Peter Eilers, . She was educated in Los Angeles and went into films because so many of her friends were in pictures. She studied for the stage, specialising in dancing...
as Virginia Cartwright - Regis ToomeyRegis ToomeyJohn Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
as Dr. Martin Vincent - Charles ArntCharles ArntCharles Arnt was an American film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1933 and 1962.He was born in Michigan City, Indiana, and died in Orcas Island, Washington from pancreatic and liver cancer.-Selected filmography:...
as Prof. Muhlbach - George ReedGeorge ReedGeorge Robert Reed, CM is a former American college football and Canadian Football League player. Reed, along with Mike Pringle and Johnny Bright, is one of the players most often mentioned as being the greatest running back in CFL history...
as Benjamin - Jayne Hazard as Dorothy Cartwright
- Jimmy Clark as George Hanover
- Mary McLeod as Lydia
- Pierre WatkinPierre WatkinPierre Watkin was an American actor. He was a character actor in many films, serials and TV series from the 1930s through the 1950s, especially westerns...
as Dist. Atty. Wallace Armstrong - John HamiltonJohn Hamilton (actor)John Hamilton was an American actor, who appeared in many movies and television programs. He is probably best remembered for his role as the blustery newspaper editor Perry White on the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman.-Biography:Burly, stentorian-voiced John Hamilton was born John...
as Bill Allen, Bank President - Sonia Sorel as Charlotte Farber
- Victor PotelVictor PotelVictor Potel was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in over 430 films in his 38 year career.-Career:...
as Mac - Game Warden - George Sherwood as Langdon
- Gene RothGene RothGene Roth was an American film actor. Born in Redfield, South Dakota, Roth was born Eugene Oliver Edgar Stutenroth...
as Detective Sparks aka Sparky
Critical reception
Film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, yet liked the atmospherics of the film, and wrote, "The dark psychological thriller had an engrossing premise courtesy of Mr. ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and was influenced further by Freudian
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
dream analysis, but it was unconvincing as a melodrama, the script was weak, the plot was full of holes and the acting was as lame as it gets...What's interesting is that the film is shot as an intense dream sequence in shadowy black-and-white hues and its sense of delirium powerfully filters through the story almost wiping away the unconvincing heavy-handed performances of the villains and the mummified acting by the leads. It's a film where Ulmer's unique style and his film noir moody interjections work better than the deviative mystery story." Critic Matthew Sorrento of Film Threat also lauded the film: "Though saddled with the script’s fetish for Freud, Ulmer stylizes his thriller without sending it adrift. Like his other great films, Strange Illusion is a shaggy quickie that takes fine shape throughout."