Remember in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" where Doris Day listens to a symphony in agony, knowing that an attempted murder is about to take place? The gripping fear shown by Ann Sheridan while on a roller-coaster ride knowing that her on-the-run husband (Ross Elliott) might suddenly be killed for witnessing a murder is just as tense, and the carnival music and sinister laugh of a fun-house harpie makes that even more nail biting. This isn't your Warner Brothers "Oomph Girl" Ann Sheridan or even the perplexed military officer who finds out she's married to Cary Grant in drag, but a hard-as-nails, world-weary wife who all of a sudden finds her life torn upside down and revelations about what everybody thought was a perfect marriage to be not so perfect.
While the killer only saw her husband's shadow, it was enough of a clue to reveal the husband's identity to him, and Sheridan, police chief Robert Keith and reporter Dennis O'Keefe are desperate to find him before its too later. O'Keefe befriends Sheridan with the intent of not only getting the scoop but perhaps getting the girl as well, and this takes them all over San Francisco, one of the great film noir settings (think "Dark Passage" and "Sudden Fear") although unlike Joan Crawford, Sheridan doesn't run up and down the hilly streets in her high heels.
A bit convoluted at times, this is still pretty interesting for the twists and turns it makes (although the film never goes near the crooked Lombard Street), and Sheridan is an engaging heroine, both dark and sympathetic, and someone you don't quite know what to make of at first. Actor turned director Norman Foster, best known for helming many of the Charlie Chan features, keeps the suspense high, and as usual, this is a film noir with a surprise ending that won't leave you feeling cheated.
While the killer only saw her husband's shadow, it was enough of a clue to reveal the husband's identity to him, and Sheridan, police chief Robert Keith and reporter Dennis O'Keefe are desperate to find him before its too later. O'Keefe befriends Sheridan with the intent of not only getting the scoop but perhaps getting the girl as well, and this takes them all over San Francisco, one of the great film noir settings (think "Dark Passage" and "Sudden Fear") although unlike Joan Crawford, Sheridan doesn't run up and down the hilly streets in her high heels.
A bit convoluted at times, this is still pretty interesting for the twists and turns it makes (although the film never goes near the crooked Lombard Street), and Sheridan is an engaging heroine, both dark and sympathetic, and someone you don't quite know what to make of at first. Actor turned director Norman Foster, best known for helming many of the Charlie Chan features, keeps the suspense high, and as usual, this is a film noir with a surprise ending that won't leave you feeling cheated.