Review of The Shrike

José Ferrer directs and stars in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize winning play. He's a stage director who finds himself under the control of a wildly passive aggressive wife (a very unlikely cast June Allyson). Way past hen- pecked, Ferrer is run into a mental hospital by his harridan wife. Directing with the camera nearly ALWAYS on himself, Ferrer shows little talent in that department. In front of the camera, he hams it up as always. There's nary a true note in his performance. Allyson, on the other hand, is surprisingly effective in her only bad-girl role. It's a shame that the ending had to be re-shot so that audiences of the day would not go away hating her. Edward C. Platt plays Ferrer's realistic brother and Mary Hayley Bell is a very bossy nurse. Joy Page is in it too. The clever title design is by Saul Bass.