Directed by Anthony Asquith • 1950 • United Kingdom
Starring Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde, John McCallum
Fortune teller Agnes Huston (Jean Kent), a.k.a. Madame Astra, has been murdered—but that’s about all anyone can agree on as five different perspectives on the dead woman’s personality come to light during the course of a labyrinthine police investigation. Each suspect remembers her differently. Was Agnes a beautiful, well-bred lady? A slovenly, raging drunk? Can we ever understand the truth of another person’s life? Putting a noir spin on the CITIZEN KANE/RASHOMON–style subjective-flashback structure makes for a delightfully clever and involving whodunnit.
Up Next in Noirvember
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The Killer That Stalked New York
Directed by Earl McEvoy • 1950 • United States
Starring Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, Dorothy MaloneBased on a true story, this race-against-the-clock thriller follows the frantic efforts to stop a potentially deadly epidemic before it turns catastrophic. Jewel smuggler Sheila Bennet (Evelyn Ke...
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On Dangerous Ground
Directed by Nicholas Ray • 1951 • United States
Starring Robert Ryan, Ida Lupino, Ward BondWhen hardened big-city police detective Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan) roughs up one too many suspects, he’s sent to the countryside to cool his heels and help search for the murderer of a small-town schoolg...
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So Long at the Fair
Directed by Terence Fisher and Antony Darnborough • 1950 • United Kingdom
Starring Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde, David TomlinsonMystery and menace are afoot at the 1889 Paris Exposition in this tense thriller from the studio that made atmospheric period dramas its specialty, Gainsborough Pictures...
