Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

lasttimeisaw The penultimate feature made in Ophüls' transitory active stint in Hollywood (from 1947 to1049, 4 features totally), CAUGHT is an unconcealed reproach of the hidebound "marrying rich" indoctrination that poisons beautiful young women (from less affluent background) into taking it as their sole goal in life. The specimen under analysis is an unassuming young model Leonora Eames (Bel Geddes), who admittedly isn't cut out to be a devout gold-digger, however, by way of sheer serendipity she falls in with just the right target, the multi-millionaire Smith Ohlrig (Ryan), but their rushed matrimony doesn't augur well, as it is Smith's spur-of-the-moment decision to willfully contradict his headshrinker, only Leonora would have known better. Blatantly modeled after Howard Hughes, Smith is a callous, high-handed megalomania, incessantly suffered from psychosomatic angina when he cannot get what he wants. After a fallout, Leonora strikes out on her own, leaving their august mansion and starting to work as a secretary of Dr. Larry Quinada (Mason, in his stateside debut), a man who is the antithesis of Smith, mutual attraction sizzles during their working/after-working time, but to extricate herself from an abusive marriage, she has everything to sacrifice, including an unborn baby. The film's espousal of pro-choice is a gallant coup-de-thêàtre transpiring as the exit route to the ill-sorted nuptial pairing, yet it is so emphatically abrupt, to a point it almost demonizes Larry for semi-foisting her in such a dazed state, and foreshadows their future in the end, which is not exactly a happy one one might foresee. Entrusted with a very sympathetic role as the gaslighted wife who is caught into a snare, objectified as a rich man's property and agonized by his contempt and sneer, Barbara Bel Geddes handsomely struts her stuff in manifesting disparate layers of Leonora's emotional states, to a terrific impression. Regarding to the two dichotomy of her male co-stars, James Mason looks exquisitely dashing under the noir-ish shade, but as usual, it is the villain strikes gold, Robert Ryan effectively reveals a rough edge in his character and doesn't relent even in those tender moments, a monster crystallized by his own obstinance, vanity and oceanic ego, and he knows it too well to readdress his atrocity. Last but definitely not the least, what leaves a viewer profoundly awestruck is Ophüls under-appreciated (at least in its time) modality in his dexterity of unspooling the story, economy is judiciously achieved by applying newspaper tidings to inform the narrative's progression, not to mention those majestic-looking shots enriched by sublime composition, unconventional depth of field and transcendent chiaroscuro, often in gliding tracking shots meticulously choreographed by an invisible but steady hand. To all intents and purposes, CAUGHT is a neglected beauty needs to be dusted off from its ill-fated obscurity.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 15 February 1949 by Enterprise Productions, Inc. (in notice: 1948). An MGM picture. U.S. release: April 1949. New York opening at the Capitol: 17 February 1949. U.K. release: 25 July 1949. Australian release: 1 December 1949. Sydney release at the St James: 2 November 1949. 8,032 feet. 89 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A poor girl who dreams of money and luxury, marries a psychotic millionaire.NOTES: James Mason's first Hollywood film. However he doesn't come in until half-way. The film was originally released world-wide by MGM. Subsequently it was re-issued by independent exchanges. It opened in London at the Empire, Leicester Square, on 25 July 1949. The British Censor gave the film an "A" certificate and cut the length to 7,896 feet — a loss of over a minute.COMMENT: Any film directed by Max Ophuls is must viewing — and this one follows directly after his American masterpiece, Letter from an Unknown Woman. Oddly enough, the film was not appreciated by contemporary critics to nearly the same extent. They were frightened off by the novelettish subject matter, despite the realistic yet stylish treatment accorded to it by Ophuls, his technicians, his players, and not least screenwriter Arthur Laurents.The writing with its careful filling-in of background, the realistic sets, the stylish deep-focus photography, and the believable performances transcend the film's dime-novel genesis. The characters are sharply etched and fascinatingly played. Barbara Bel Geddes is winning and sympathetic as the credible but by no means admirable gold-digger. A difficult role which she plays both with charm and total conviction.Robert Ryan has a more tailor-made part as the psychotic millionaire. Yet despite his familiarity, he still succeeds in dominating every scene in which he appears, giving a fascinating portrayal of a self-centered ego that feeds not only on those around but on himself. At times ingratiating, at times sullen and morose, at times eccentric and psychotic, Ryan like Bel Geddes gives a rounded interpretation of a fully three-dimensional character. The other players, having less to do with the action, are conceived in more simple terms. Chief of these of course is James Mason, who plays the slum doctor in his usual vigorous style, perhaps blurring some of the nuances and subtleties intended by the scriptwriter in the process. Quinada is dedicated and altruistic, yet at the same time a mean man with a buck, a workaholic who is human enough to feel tired, depressed, angry, even selfish and unsympathetic. Oddly enough, Mason's brusque, brisk performance tends to over-emphasize the negative aspects of the character, so that as a foil and a contrast to Robert Ryan's vicious millionaire, he is not wholly engaging. This is what causes the film to lose a fair amount of its tension. The plot and the requirements of the Hays Office are not wholly to blame.Outstanding among the support players, Curt Bois brings a fascinating credibility — even sympathy — to his role of a vicious pimp. Natalie Schafer, Frank Ferguson and Art Smith contribute their usual effective characterizations.Thanks to Lee Garmes' camera-work and appropriately atmospheric lighting, and the superb sets ranging from mansions to mean hovels designed by Frank Sylos, the film is always most attractive to look at. The fluid and inventive camera, the tight compositions and taut pace, stamp it firmly as the work of a master European director. No gangsters — but film noir at its most expressive.

SnoopyStyle Poor innocent model Leonora Eames (Barbara Bel Geddes) meets arrogant volatile tycoon Smith Ohlrig (Robert Ryan). To spite his therapist, he marries Leonora without even being sure of her name. She is unhappy in their marriage but he is unwilling to grant her a divorce. She leaves her life of luxury to work as a receptionist in a doctor's office in the poverty-stricken lower east side. Smith pleads for her to return and she gets pregnant. It turns out that he hasn't changed one bit and he runs away to join Dr. Larry Quinada (James Mason) who she has fallen in love with.Barbara is doing a small performance as Leonora is a small personality. Her sweet middle-class nature is the perfect antidote to Smith. This is well made paperback romance movie. The start is a bit slow. It may be useful to introduce Dr. Quinada sooner. Maybe the movie can start with Dr. Quinada treating the models or simply be kind to Leonora. It would allow her a safe place to run away to the first time around.

Robert J. Maxwell Two men vie for the love or, at a minimum, the obedience of a poor girl who has just managed to graduate from charm school. One man is rich,bitter, domineering, and has eyeballs of steel. His name is Smith Ohlrig. The other man is a handsome, hard-working but poor doctor dedicated to serving the disenfranchised. His name is Larry Quinada. Guess which one wins her.It's not as stupid as it may sound, for a couple of reasons. One is the performances, both as the roles are written and as the parts executed. Robert Ryan is Smith Ohlrig and there was no one better than Ryan at projecting a pungent hatred of humanity than Ryan. He was superb, for instance, in "On Dangerous Ground" and "Crossfire." Barbara Bel Geddes as Leonora, the blond in contention, is fine as the winsome young charm school graduate who is sufficiently attracted to the immensely wealthy Ryan to marry him, not knowing that he proposed on a dare from his psychiatrist. She's pretty too, though she sounds like she came from the kind of background that Ryan enjoys in this movie. Speaking of that, though, at the beginning the impoverished Bel Geddes is rooming with another girl who refers to their apartment as "this dump." That particular "dump" looks more spacious and well appointed than the dump my brother and I knew as children. Right, Bucky? If you're not careful, you could get the impression that production designers and set dressers in Hollywood don't have any real conception of poverty.James Mason is not the stereotype he might have been -- you know, quiet, patient, understanding, "caring" -- and thank God for that. It might have been sickening. Bel Geddes has left Ryan and taken a job as Mason's receptionist. And when we first meet him, and more or less throughout the movie, he's impatient, scolding, and only rarely concerned about Bel Geddes welfare. He shows no appreciation when she works overtime or even stays all night at the office. At one point, he drives her to quit.That's rather a nice touch, having the obvious winner of her love being a little nasty to her. Not TOO nasty. In that case, you might as well have called this movie "All Men Are Brutes." But just edgy enough so that he avoids the soap opera formula. He's strong enough to allow Bel Geddes the final decision, but he's not a sap either.I'm afraid the script could have used a little more polish. Mason's character may not be a stereotype (neither is Ryan's flunky, Franzi), but Ryan's certainly is and, to an extent, Bel Geddes' is as well.Some crises and some of the dialog are plain terrible. Bel Geddes is pregnant with Ryan's fetus, he apparently having reserved usufruct rights over her reproductive system, and he has her imprisoned in her room, torturing her by keeping her awake with constant calls and demands, while she lies sweating and helpless on the satin sheets. Here are some of her lines. "Don't take my BABY, Smith! Oh, Larry, please help me. I want you." I'm not making that up.The direction is by Max Ophuls and it's above average, overcoming the benthic depths in the script. Nice shots of Ryan and the exhausted Bel Geddes speaking through a bedroom door ajar. And there's another scene that is quietly impressive. Mason is pacing around in his office. His partner, Frank Ferguson, is using an electric razor on his chin across the room. They are quietly discussing Bel Geddes, whom Mason has just fired. Mason is turning the affair over in his mind. The perceptive Ferguson makes an occasional remark. Meanwhile, as the two speak, the camera drifts slowly from one man to the other, each time crossing Bel Geddes' vacant desk which sits between them. As the scene ends, the camera slows to a halt, with the deafeningly empty desk in the center of the frame.