Posts

Showing posts with the label Murderous 'n' Slutty

OPEN POST: Monday At The Movies With "Bewitched!"

Image
No, not TV's "Bewitched," but this truly unnerving little shocker from 1945 in which Phyllis Thaxter plays a heroine who may or may not be a murderous (and very slutty) psychopath. Yikes. Tackling the concept of split-personality decades before the likes of "Psycho," we meet Joan, a sweet young heroine possessed by a dark inner voice named - are you ready for this? - "Karen." Oh here go hell come, as they say, and in this case, hell do.  If you're like me and love the heavy shadowed film-noir look from the 1940s, this movie delivers the goods - and how. Yet it also possesses a haunting, dreamlike quality which makes Joan's mental struggle feel visceral. Directed with smashing visual style by Arch Oboler, who got his start as a playwright and lauded horror radio show producer, "Bewitched" unspools in a swift 70 minutes, and for me, remains an essential hallmark of early film-noir. More than that, it's just plain fun, and though it ...