House on Telegraph Hill
by Robert Wise
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Actor: Fay Baker, Gordon Gebert, Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, William LundiganDirector: Robert Wise
Brand: BASEHART,RICHARD
Cinematographer: Lucien Ballard
Editor: Nick DeMaggio
Producer: Robert Bassler
Writer: Dana Lyon
Writer: Elick Moll
Writer: Frank Partos
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-03-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of House on Telegraph Hill
DVD Review: A Psychological Thriller Where People Aren't Who They Appear To Be
Summary: 4 Stars
The House on Telegraph Hill may not be an A thriller, but it's a B-plus thriller trying hard. It has an intriguing premise, characters who may not be who they seem, a great locale in San Francisco and a big, gloomy mansion.
Victoria Kowelska (Valentina Cortese; spelled Cortesa in the credits) is a Polish survivor of the Belsen concentration camp. Her husband was killed by the Germans and her home in Poland has been destroyed. Just before the camp is liberated her closest friend dies. This was a woman who had a wealthy aunt in America. Victoria's friend managed to smuggled her baby boy out of Poland and to the aunt just as the Germans invaded. Given a chance at a new life in America, Victoria grabs for it. She uses her friend's papers to assume her friend's identity. After spending time in a relocation camp, she learns the aunt has died. She makes her way to America and in New York meets the boy's guardian, Alan Spender (Richard Basehart). The boy will inherit the aunt's riches when he comes of age. Spender, who has adopted the boy, is initially suspicious of Victoria, but then he seems captivated by her. Victoria believes that she can love the boy as her own and find security with Spender. In a whirlwind decision they marry, return to San Francisco...and then suspicious things begin to happen.
If Victoria is not who she pretends to be, it may be than Alan Spender isn't either. Hovering in the background and living in the mansion on Telegraph Hill with them is Margaret (Fay Baker), the boy's nanny. Margaret is a tightly wound woman, controlling, and is not pleased with the marriage. Into this mix drifts Marc Bennett (William Lundigan). Before long, he and Victoria begin finding their way toward a relationship of their own.
The movie has several things going for it. Robert Wise, the director, takes his time setting the scene with Victoria, letting us know how her feelings for security were formed at Belsen. The action moves step by step, slowly and steadily building up our suspicions about Spender, leading us on to dislike Margaret and making everyday actions like driving a car or drinking orange juice something to be wary of. The film is carefully photographed to create mood. The bright San Francisco days and the busy streets of the city contrast nicely with the gloominess and tension in the old mansion.
What keeps this out of the A list is, I think, the actors. They all do fine jobs but there just isn't the camera-catching interest that many first-rank star actors can bring to a role. Cortese is effective and sympathetic. Basehart does a skilled job of slowly letting us see little, disquieting emotions. He was a skilled actor but somehow seemed to lack the charisma that makes evil or derangement fascinating. Lundigan was a big, handsome guy but who always seemed like the extra man invited to fill out a dinner party, attractive but not much there. Fay Baker, however, nearly manages to steal the movie. Her role is more complex than we're led to believe, and she pulls it off with skill.
I've always admired Richard Basehart even if I seldom found any individual role he played, especially later on in his career, very interesting. He always turned in a solid performance and he was versatile. When he started out in movies he managed to land several roles in interesting movies that helped establish his career. On DVD check him out in He Walked by Night (1948) as a very cool criminal or in Reign of Terror (1949) as a paranoid Robespierre. He steals every scene he shares with the movie's hero, Robert Cummings. On late night cable you might get a chance to see him in Decision Before Dawn (1951) as a sympathetic army officer dealing with a German POW, Oskar Werner, or in Fourteen Hours (1951), a flawed film with some excellent performances, or in a supporting role in Repeat Performance (1947), his first movie. Repeat Performance is a gem; a woman kills a man, runs to a friend for help, and when she arrives realizes that time has moved back a year. She has a second chance, but will anything she do make a difference?
Some call The House on Telegraph Hill a noir. It isn't, in my view, especially with the term "noir" now seen as a great marketing device to sell old movies. It's a skillfully put together psychological thriller with a great premise. The DVD picture looks good and there is a commentary track, which I didn't listen to, by Eddie Muller. He's listed as being a noted film historian.
Description of House on Telegraph Hill
A woman survives the concentration camps and assumes another woman's identity; once in America she learns that a young boy in her new family has inherited a large sum of money while others scheme to get their hands on it.Genre: Mystery
Rating: NR
Release Date: 7-MAR-2006
Media Type: DVD
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