Shadow on the Wall (1950)

Directed by Pat Jackson; produced by Robert Sisk

An architect (Zachary Scott) has an enviable life: marriage to a beautiful woman (Kristine Miller), a loving relationship with his little daughter (Gigi Perreau), a successful career. Then he discovers that his wife is having an affair with her sister’s fiancé. During a confrontation one evening, she knocks him unconscious just as her sister (Ann Sothern) walks in. The sister, filled with pent-up rage and resentment, kills the wife and flees. As she learns only afterward, her murderous act was witnessed by the little girl.

A literally psychological crime drama, Shadow on the Wall successfully combines a moderately scientific detective story with suspense. The tale centres largely on the efforts of a psychiatrist (Nancy Davis, better known in later life as Nancy Reagan) to penetrate the mental defences Perreau has erected against the terrifying event she observed, and the counter-efforts by Sothern to keep her secret.

The script works well, and creates effective suspense, especially at the climax. I liked how it took time to show how good a father Scott is, and how he enjoys parenthood. This is clear not only in scenes with his daughter but in an amusing shaving lesson given to a neighbour-boy. Scott’s character is a world away from the man he portrayed in his cinematic debut (The Mask of Dimitrios) and, though, despite second billing, his screen-time is limited, he is effective. Sothern as well gives a good performance, though her change from sympathetic under-dog to hateful murderess is a bit rushed. That, I feel, is the biggest problem with Shadow on the Wall: not the detail of the characters, but their depth. Sothern’s transformation is almost but not quite credible. Even Davis’s farewell at the end is rather casually dismissive, considering the tension and events in which she had participated.

Perreau is as believable as Scott in her role, and the two have good chemistry together. The film would have improved if the father-daughter pair had been the main characters, though this of course would have resulted in a different film.

Other aspects of the movie are good but not outstanding. The direction makes adequate use of the ‘shadow’ motif, but could have been better in the hands of someone more capable. The production values are those of a decent ‘B’ picture, neither cheap nor lavish.

For the story and the actors, then, Shadow on the Wall is worth a look. It will keep the viewer entertained to the end, and that, after all, is what we want in a movie on a chilly Saturday night.