SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Mikel3 'The House on Telegraph Hill' (1951) Starring Valentina Cortese and Richard Basehart. Contains minor spoilers.Last night we were looking for an older film to watch that we had never seen before. We found this movie. It was a strange offbeat mix of friendship, love, infidelity, greed, stolen identity and murder. Richard Basehart shows here just what a fine actor he was. Sadly, I feel he is mostly associated with his role on TVs 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' and not his earlier films that showed his versatility. He was convincing here as a seemingly loving new husband who might just be hiding a murderous side. In some ways much like Gary Grant's character in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Suspicion' (1941). I wonder if that earlier film influenced the character for this one? 'The House on Telegraph Hill' was directed by the usually very talented Robert Wise.I did like this film and it's worth seeing, however, I couldn't help thinking how much better it may have been if directed by the master of suspense 'Alfred Hitchcock'. It's hard to explain, some scenes just didn't ring as real to me as they might have in a Hitchcock film. Also, the occasional surprises should have had much more impact than they did. I really don't understand that, I expected more from Robert Wise. This was a good film that should have been a great film. The acting talent was all there, something else was missing.It's interesting to note that the two leads Valentina Cortese and Richard Basehart met making this movie and were soon married. This may have added to the chemistry they had on screen together early on as two lovers. Their marriage lasted 9 years and they had one child together.I do recommend this movie to people who enjoy crime dramas with some surprises. The story does have a very satisfying ending to it. Also, the resolution of the stolen identity story rather surprised me. I can't explain without giving too much away. I'll only say it seemed justified. I rate this a 6 out of 10.

RanchoTuVu A young woman who survives the concentration camp at Bergen Belsen (Valentina Cortese) assumes the identity of her friend, who died at the camp, and through the new identity inherits a mansion in San Francisco on Telegraph Hill. Thus the woman escapes the poverty of post World War II Europe but enters into a nasty and ongoing dangerous battle over control of wealth and property in San Francisco. The woman-in- distress story has Cortese marrying Richard Basehart, who manipulates everything as a means of climbing up the ladder of wealth and position which he feels he's entitled to and Cortese is potentially depriving him of. Her gradual awareness of Basehart's character are the primary focus of this movie. Also in the mix is the young son of her deceased friend and the friend's great aunt, who left the mansion to her. The photography by Lucien Ballard is terrific throughout, especially the close-ups of Basehart. The film features hilly San Francisco prominently in several location shots, but the best parts take place within the mansion and in its backyard and the dilapidated shed that's built over a cliff. Basehart, who had done an excellent turn as a ruthless techno-savvy killer in He Walked By Night (1948) carried that menace into this movie quite well.

grizzledgeezer Though based on a novel, "The House on Telegraph Hill" looks like a mash-up of two famous Hitchcock flicks, with orange juice replacing milk. It's unlikely this was intentional, but it doesn't change the fact that "House" is annoyingly similar and much inferior to either of The Master's films.Robert Wise again demonstrates why he's such a profoundly mediocre director. The quality of his films seems to depend solely on the quality of the material he's working with. That's good -- he doesn't ruin good stuff -- but it's bad because he does little to enhance average (or worse) material. If there were ever a non-auteur director, Wise was it. (He even admitted to having no particular style.)"House" needs the director's help. The script does little to create suspense. Who is "good" and who is "bad"? Is Viktoria imagining things, or is she really in danger? The tale's final unraveling is so drawn-out and overwrought that it's hard not to laugh. As with Wise's "The Haunting", "House" is a suspense film remarkably lacking palpable tension.It's hard to believe Wise wasn't aware he was in Hitchcock territory, and he'd better be on his toes. But the result is little more than a soporific run-through of the script. Basehart's final revelation of his motives is drab, and seems to come out of left field (even though it's prefigured).The only good thing is Valentina Cortese's sympathetic and thoroughly convincing performance. If only everything else had been that good...

writers_reign This was one of several more or less ho-hum features that Robert Wise directed between The Set-Up and Somebody Up There Likes Me. In some ways it's a prototype of Dial M For Murder with a would-be murder victim wife (Valentina Cortese) turning to family friend (William Lundigan) when she suspects her husband (Richard Basehart) is attempting to administer poison where it will do the most good. Blended to this is the 'Captive Heart' element in which a desperate person steals the identity of a dead person in wartime (a gimmick also used by novelist Cornell Woolrich/William Irish to great effect). Cortese is effective as the protagonist who, in stealing the identity of a fellow inmate of Belsen, puts herself in line for a fortune which Richard Basehart has schemed to make his own. Although a decent enough actor Basehart lacked charisma as did the third lead William Lundigan whose range extended from A to about F. Despite this Wise turned in a fairly gripping semi-noir that's certainly worth a look.