There are two Horror/Noirs I think of as being a lot of fun, and they both feature Thomas Mitchell. One is The Dark Mirror starring Olivia de Havilland as twins, one of which has committed murder. (It shows up very soon.) The other is this, where Ray Milland plays the devil, helping Mitchell become governor. It’s a political corruption plot given a supernatural spin. I didn’t know if the satan angle would be a spoiler reveal, but they’re pretty up front that Nick Beal can make things happen magically, but without any Hollywood special effects that might’ve pushed this into all out whimsey.
Audrey Totter was one of Hollywood’s more unusual presences. Someone whose slight imperfections, hard angles and slightly overdone delivery might’ve hurt her in any other era, but she’s a great fit for Noir. She’s the kind of performer you believe as a sad, angry drunk in sable. She also has a great scene with Mitchell where she realizes she’s running through a seduction script Beal already laid out for her. She also takes a mean slap like she didn’t know it was coming. That’s just one aspect – not even the main attraction – to this twisted wry grin thriller that kept a smile on my face.
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