| Shadow of a Woman | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Andrea King, who plays Brooke Gifford Ryder, narrates the picture, which is heavily (and senselessly) plotted.
A woman (Andrea King) on the verge of breakdown marries a fraudulent medical doctor (Helmut Dantine) she hardly knows, which puts her in a state of fear and danger.
Furthermore, she suspects that her husband is starving his young son from a previous marriage.
Santley’s flat direction and stiff acting only accentate the shortcomings of this incredulously structured fim noir.
This B-film melodrama reunites co-stars Helmut Dantine and Andrea King, who had appeared in Hotel Berlin.
Intertextuality
In an early restaurant scene, we hear “How Little We Know,” the Hoagy Carmichael song that Lauren Bacall sang in her 1944 feature debut, To Have and Have Not.
Cast
Helmut Dantine as Dr. Eric Ryder
Andrea King as Brooke Gifford Ryder
William Prince as David G. MacKellar, Louise’s Lawyer
John Alvin as Carl. Emma’s son
Becky Brown as Genevieve Calvin
Richard Erdman as Joe, Counterman at Owl Lunch
Peggy Knudsen as Louise Ryder, Eric’s Ex
Don McGuire as Johnnie, MacKellar’s Photographer
Lisa Golm as Emma, Eric’s Sister
Larry Geiger as Philip Ryder, Eric’s Son
Monte Blue as Mike, Police Lieutenant
J. Scott Smart as Timothy Freeman
Credits:
Directed by Joseph Santley
Screenplay by Whitman Chambers and C. Graham Baker, based on He Fell Down Dead, 1943 novel by Virginia Perdue
Produced by William Jacobs
Narrated by Andrea King
Cinematography Bert Glennon
Edited by Christian Nyby
Music by Adolph Deutsch
Production and Distribution: Warner Bros. P
Release date: Sept 14, 1946
Running time: 78 minutes
Budget $427,000
Box office $732,000
