Vicki (Fox Film Noir)
by Harry Horner
List Price:
Our Price: $6.41
You Save: $8.57 (57%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.47 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Elliott Reid, Jean Peters, Jeanne Crain, Max Showalter, Richard BooneDirector: Harry Horner
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Milton R. Krasner
Editor: Dorothy Spencer
Producer: Leonard Goldstein
Writer: Dwight Taylor
Writer: Leo Townsend
Writer: Steve Fisher
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Vicki (Fox Film Noir)
DVD Review: Watered-Down Material, but Interesting Study in the Changing Feminine Ideal in 1950s.
Summary: 3 Stars
"Vicki" is the second film adaptation of Steve Fisher's novel "I Wake Up Screaming". The first was an A-list film made 12 years earlier, released in 1942, that retained the novel's title. 1942's "I Wake Up Screaming" starred Victor Mature as Vicki's publicity man Frankie Christopher and featured Betty Grable in her first non-musical role as Jil Lynn. 1953's "Vicki" is a moderately budgeted affair without high-power stars. It is perhaps marginally film noir but bland overall. "Vicki" has a more extensive flashback structure than the 1942 film, which awkwardly overloads the first part of the film. That is not from the book, and Dwight Taylor is credited as screenwriter on both movies. "Vicki" seems to have been adapted from the earlier film rather than from Fisher's novel.
When famous model Vicki Lynn (Jean Peters) is found murdered in her New York apartment, gruff police detective Ed Cornell (Richard Boone) insists on taking the case. Miss Lynn left a string of admirers and sponsors high and dry when she decided to try her luck in Hollywood, so there is no shortage of suspects: Her jilted boyfriend, actor Robin Ray (Alex D'Arcy). Society columnist Larry Evans (Casey Adams), who made her the toast of the town. And publicity man Steve Christopher (Elliot Reid), who engineered Vicki's rapid rise to the darling of café society. But detective Cornell decides that Christopher is the guilty party and obsessively harasses the man, even badgering Vicki's sympathetic sister Jill (Jeanne Craine), who doubts Christopher's guilt.
"Vicki" is not a bad film, but it suffers by comparison to its predecessor. It lacks the stars' charisma of "I Wake Up Screaming" as well that film's menacing tone and psychosexual subtext. The villain, Ed Cornell, is more pathetic in "Vicki" than in "I Wake Up Screaming". Perhaps that is more realistic, but the character doesn't inspire the fear that Laird Cregar's chilling interpretation did in 1942. Still, Richard Boone's performance is the best in the film. But this isn't the ideal context for an aging, obsessed, pathetic loser cop. Cornell often refers to Christopher as "pretty boy", which is puzzling given Elliot Reid's hum-drum appearance. Christopher is a slick publicity man. He should at least be a sharp dresser. Elliot Reid's performance is as benign as his wardrobe. Harry Horner was probably the wrong director for this material.
Themes and characters are watered down in "Vicki". But comparing the women in 1942's "I Wake Up Screaming" and 1953's "Vicki" gets interesting. In "I Wake Up Screaming", Vicki is the older, worldly sister. She's selfish and ambitious, but sharp. Jill is younger, wholesome, and more cautious. But she's no shrinking violet. Both women know their own minds and neither is easily intimidated. In "Vicki", Jill is the older, wiser, very maternal sister. Vicki is young, ambitious, impetuous, but also shallow and naive. "I Wake Up Screaming" reflects the feminine ideal of the 1940s: smart, utilitarian, and confident. Jill is a helper-heroine whom Christopher needs to regain control of his life. "Vicki" reflects the post-war ideal of women: Young and silly or older and maternal but, either way, frightened and driven by emotions. Jill is a love interest in "Vicki", not a partner.
The DVD (20th Century Fox 2006): Bonus features include a theatrical trailer (2 min), Still Galleries, and an audio commentary by film noir historian and author Foster Hirsch. The 3 Stills Galleries are: Advertising (12 b&w images), Behind-the-Scenes (10 b&w photos), and a 16-page Interactive Pressbook. You can zoom in on pictures or articles to read them. In his audio commentary, Foster Hirsch discusses the actors, the contrast between flat lighting and low-key "noir" lighting (what little there is of it) in the film, and takes us through the story. Hirsch also critiques "Vicki" in comparison to 1942's "I Wake Up Screaming". He doesn't hold "Vicki" in very high esteem, for some of the same and some different reasons that I don't. Subtitles for the film are available in English and Spanish.
Description of Vicki (Fox Film Noir)
VICKI - DVD MovieBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
No Way Out (Fox Film Noir)POITIER,SIDNEY; Release date: 2006-03-07; DVD
Best price: $6.27
Price in other shops:
House of Strangers (Fox Film Noir)Fox; Release date: 2006-06-06; DVD
Best price: $5.08
Price in other shops:
House on Telegraph HillBASEHART,RICHARD; Release date: 2006-03-07; DVD
Best price: $7.23
Price in other shops:
The Dark Corner (Fox Film Noir)Fox; Release date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $7.02
Price in other shops:
Road House (Fox Film Noir)LUPINO,IDA; Release date: 2008-09-02; DVD
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops:
ShockPRICE,VINCENT; Release date: 2006-08-29; DVD
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops:
14 HoursFox; Release date: 2006-08-29; DVD
Best price: $7.17
Price in other shops:
Black Widow (Fox Film Noir)BLACK WIDOW; Release date: 2008-03-11; DVD
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
I Wake Up Screaming (Fox Film Noir)Fox; Release date: 2006-06-06; DVD
Best price: $7.17
Price in other shops:
Dangerous CrossingFox; Release date: 2008-03-11; DVD
Best price: $5.60
Price in other shops: