Movie Review: The Iron Curtain (1948)

Genre: Cold War Biographical Espionage Drama  

Director: William A. Wellman  

Starring: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, June Havoc  

Running Time: 87 minutes  

Synopsis: During World War Two, Soviet military cipher expert Igor Gouzenko (Dana Andrews) is assigned to the Soviet embassy in Ottawa. He is soon joined by his pregnant wife Anna (Gene Tierney), and witnesses the expansion of a spy network under the leadership of "Paul" (Berry Kroeger), a Soviet agent who has infiltrated Canada's parliament. Several Canadian atomic weapons program employees are turned into spies, but the birth of Igor's son changes his perspective. 

What Works Well: Based on actual events that became known as the Gouzenko Affair, this is a straightforward story about the hardening of the Cold War's early front lines. Director William A. Wellman balances spy machinations deep in the embassy bowels with public-facing efforts to exert influence, spread communist ideas, and attract traitors to the cause. The exterior scenes are filmed on location in Ottawa, while the soundtrack is rich with Russian classical music.

What Does Not Work As Well: Despite the short running length, the pacing in the first two thirds is lumbering, Igor an uninteresting and mostly passive observer of the Soviet spy machine kicking into gear. His transition from faithful soldier to defector is handled with clumsy suddenness, while the bumpy storytelling leans on inelegant narration.

Conclusion: The curtain is patchy.



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Movie Review: Night And The City (1950)

Genre: Noir Drama

Director: Jules Dassin

Starring: Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Francis L. Sullivan, Herbert Lom, Hugh Marlowe

Running Time: 101 minutes

Synopsis: In London, Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) is a small-time hustler determined to make it big. To finance his far-fetched schemes he constantly demands money from his increasingly exasperated girlfriend Mary (Gene Tierney), who works at the nightclub owned by businessman Phil Nosseross (Francis L. Sullivan) and his wife Helen (Googie Withers). After meeting retired Greco-Roman wrestling legend Gregorius, Harry believes he can become an influential wrestling promoter. For different reasons, Nosseross, Helen, and Gregorius' son Kristo (Herbert Lom), himself a financier of entertainment wrestling, are all interested in Harry's venture.

What Works Well: The adaptation of Gerald Kersh's book is a grim, plot-rich, and relentless journey through London's underworld. As Harry Fabian, Richard Widmark's combustible mix of desperation, self-belief, and smarminess scorches the screen, as his obsessive search for a shortcut to riches obsures ever-increasing risks. Director Jules Dassin adds a deep set of well-rounded characters pursuing conflicting agendas, and peppers the drama with London riffraff: a forger, a beggar merchant, and a riverfront smuggler all influence Harry's destiny. Strained relationships underpin motivations, including the unhappy Nosseross marriage, Gregorius' disappointment in his son Kristo, and Mary believing in Harry even as he tests her limits. 

What Does Not Work As Well: Other than Mary and her non-entity neighbour Adam (Hugh Marlowe), none of the characters are deserving of much sympathy.

Conclusion: Big plans for rich rewards come with hefty hazards.



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Movie Review: Leave Her To Heaven (1945)

A colourful drama with noir shadings, Leave Her To Heaven explores a seemingly perfect marriage undermined by ruinous jealousy.

Author Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) meets beautiful rich socialite Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney) on a train. She claims he closely resembles her recently deceased father, and break off her engagement with lawyer Russell Quinton (Vincent Price) to marry Richard.

Richard is devoted to the the wellbeing of his brother Danny (Darryl Hickman) who is slowly recovering from leg injuries. But Ellen is exceptionally possessive and starts to resent Danny's intrusion on her marriage. She is also jealous of her adopted sister Ruth (Jeanne Crain) who develops a deep friendship and perhaps a crush on Richard. As the newly married couple vacation with Danny at an idyllic lake, Ellen's emotional avarice takes a dark turn.

Sometimes designated the first film noir in colour, Leave Her To Heaven is more of an overdone mishmash. While Ellen Berent is certainly a memorable femme fatale, director John M. Stahl is less concerned with noir elements and more interested in showcasing his Technicolor crayons with sparkling scenes of lakefront living. The film more often resembles an overheated melodrama, Ellen admitting early to an excessive demand for devotion and an inability to share attention, creating a sturdy but predictable foundation for misdeeds to come.

The film adapts the novel by Ben Ames Williams with hints of underdeveloped storylines hampered by the cinematic constraints of the era. Ellen's relationship with her deceased father is described in a few different vague terms but never confronted for what it may have been. Less excusable is the rather tepid depiction of the bond between Richard and Ruth, a source of much of Ellen's wrath but otherwise poorly defined. And finally Ellen as a potential victim of a mental disorder is never posited as a narrative avenue. Her venom towards others (and herself) is portrayed as simple evil, denying the film texture.

The final act suddenly transforms into amateur hour at the courthouse. In a ridiculous display of theatrics, Vincent Price takes centre stage as lead prosecutor and the Jo Swerling script demonstrates a childish disdain for basic court proceedings.

The cast members are surprisingly stiff, with only Gene Tierney glowing within the colourful aesthetic. Cornel Wilde is mechanical and Jeanne Crain underutilized.

Instead of a deft touch, sinister nuance, and shades of grey, Leave Her To Heaven opts for brash and bold.

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Movie Review: Tobacco Road (1941)

A comedy with some dramatic elements about abject poverty, Tobacco Road never gets the balance right and is a mostly ghastly exercise in overacting.

It's the early 1930s, and the South is in the midst of the Great Depression. Elderly farmer Jeeter Lester (Charley Grapewin), his wife Ada (Elizabeth Patterson), daughter Ellie May (Gene Tierney) and son Dude (William Tracy) are squatting on the estate of Jeeter's now deceased former boss. Dirt poor and lazy, Jeeter barely scrapes together a living, and has no hesitation stealing from his son-in-law Lov Bensey (Ward Bond).

Jeeter is given a few days notice to come up with $100 in annual rent or else move off the land. Prospects look grim until neighbour Sister Bessie Rice (Marjorie Rambeau), a devout lover of religious singing, decides to marry the much younger Dude. Bessie has some insurance money squirreled away, but quickly spends it all on a new car. This does not stop Lester from scheming to fleece his new daughter-in-law.

An adaptation of a popular play from the era, Tobacco Road is an uncomfortably bumpy cinematic experience. The intent of the Nunnally Johnson script must have been to elicit sympathy for the plight of the poor through a mixture of humour and poignancy. But unfortunately director John Ford never sets the right tone. All the characters are portrayed as dimwits deserving their fate, and Jeeter's antics of joyfully taking advantage of family members erode any sense of empathy.

Humour derived from abject stupidity is always fraught with peril, and Tobacco Road often misses the target by astounding margins. Dude, an insanely intolerable and constantly shrieking moron, proceeds to wreck a brand new car within a few hours. Bensey plays a whiny victim while describing the stream of physical abuse he doles out to his wife Pearl (never seen).

Bessie is occasionally funny as she breaks into song at every opportunity, and Ford does frame a few magnificent landscapes in gloomy black and white, and at least wraps up the misery in 84 minutes. But with Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews (in a small role as the son of Jeeter's former boss) wasted, Tobacco Road is more spit than chew.

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Movie Review: The Secret Of Convict Lake (1951)

A Western with a difference, The Secret Of Convict Lake is a tight and tense drama set in an isolated community during an unforgiving winter storm.

It's 1871, and six convicts escape from Carson City and make their way on foot across a mountain range in a snow storm. The chasing posse has to turn back due to the harrowing conditions, and the escapees are presumed dead. One of them does perish, but the remaining five, including the level-headed Jim Canfield (Glenn Ford), conniving Johnny Greer (Zachary Scott) and the young but ailing Clyde (Richard Hylton) make it over the peak and down to the tiny community of Monte Diablo Lake.

There they find only women, including Marcia (Gene Tierney), her future sister-in-law Rachel (Ann Dvorak), the young and innocent Barbara (Barbara Bates), and the bedridden but strong willed Granny (Ethel Barrymore). The men of the community, including Marcia's fiance Rudy (Harry Carter), are away on a long-term prospecting trip.

Initially the women have the weapons and the upper hand, and the five men are confined to a lodge. Johnny is convinced that Jim has hidden $40,000 in stolen money, but gradually other truths emerge: Jim does indeed have links to the Monte Diablo community, involving a revenge motive due to false murder testimony. Tensions and emotions rise as Jim and Marcia are strangely attracted to each other, Johnny pursues the frosty Rachel to gain an edge, and Clyde emerges as potentially the most dangerous of them all at Barbara's expense.

Loosely inspired by real events, directed by Michael Gordon and co-written by an uncredited Ben Hecht, The Secret of Convict Lake is an unfortunately forgotten gem. Packing an astounding amount of plot, conspiracy and character dynamics into its 83 minutes, this is an enjoyably intricate and thoughtful Western exploring original territory.

Gordon plays with the power dynamics between men and women as well as the struggle for domination between the men themselves, as the story reveals its layered secrets on its own terms. Despite some clunky action scene staging and editing, the resolution is exceptionally clever, and the denouement pushes the boundaries of the cinematic era.

This is a Western with an abundance of narrative arcs, and the ever shifting character motivations and evolutions dramatically enhance the film. Jim, Marcia and Rachel all undergo transformations as the storm-enforced confinement unfolds, while Johnny and Clyde reveal a lot more about themselves than first meets the eye. Once the inevitable gun smoke clears, an entire community has been changed forever, and indeed Monte Diablo Lake gains a new name.

The Secret Of Convict Lake carries seeds of stories later extrapolated in better known films. The theme of sexual tension between prisoners and women standing on guard appears in the classic The Beguiled, while a group of men and women starting out on a hostile footing in an isolated setting but developing unexpected relationships was exploited for fun in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. The Secret Of Convict Lake adds a surprisingly intriguing personal double-cross and revenge story, conflict between future sisters-in-law, and lonely women unable to resist the temptation of treacherous men.

Glenn Ford plays to his strengths as an almost honest man caught up in crooked events, Jim Canfield victimized to the point of not caring about the consequences of his grim course of action. Gene Tierney emerges as the most resilient of the local women, initially unaware of her role in the dangerous showdown looming at her doorstep but gradually distinguishing between the shades of grey.

Underrated and mostly forgotten, The Secret Of Convict Lake is well worth rediscovering.

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Movie Review: The Return Of Frank James (1940)

A colourful western with a nuanced revenge theme, The Return Of Frank James is a proficient adventure with a balanced mix of action and dilemmas for the central character to grapple with.

With a huge reward on his head set by the railway company, notorious outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back and killed by the Ford brothers Bob (John Carradine) and Charlie (Charles Tannen). Upon hearing that the Fords were pardoned, Jesse's brother Frank (Henry Fonda) decides to emerge from his peaceful life as a farmer to seek justice for his brother. Along with his young sidekick Clem (Jackie Cooper) they go looking for the Fords, leaving loyal farmhand Pinky (Ernest Whitman) behind.

Frank is intrinsically a peaceful man who eschews violence, and yet has to find a way to avenge his brother while himself avoiding the long arm of the law. He robs a railway company office to raise money for his quest, a heist that ends with him being wrongly accused of murder. He uses naive reporter Eleanor Stone (Gene Tierney) to spread false rumours of his death while continuing to track down the Fords. But then Pinky is arrested and Frank develops feelings for Eleanor, forcing him to reassess his priorities.

Directed by Fritz Lang and only loosely inspired by real events, The Return Of Frank James is an entertaining sequel to 1939's Jesse James. Filmed in rich colour and featuring Henry Fonda in fine form and Gene Tierney's screen debut, the film draws its energy from a conflicted central character seeking vengeance but also uncomfortable with violence. The Sam Hellman script perhaps tilts too far towards sanitizing Frank's character, but Fonda does the most with the role, building his screen persona as the morally upright man who nevertheless wants to ensure justice is served.

The Return Of Frank James sets itself apart from many westerns by having Frank stop and pause at a couple of key junctures. He is initially content to let the justice system deal with the Fords, and only after they are pardoned does he struggle with the decision to abandon his quiet life as a farmer. Later Frank reaches another crossroads and has to decide whether to continue his pursuit or rescue Pinky from an undeserved fate and explore a potential relationship with Eleanor. Fonda excels at exploiting such predicaments, elevating the film from the routine towards the cerebral.

Lang and Hellman do a good job of demonizing the Fords with subtle jabs, as the brothers aim to profit from their infamy by staging a cheesy play twisting their assassination of Jesse into fictional heroics. Further colour is added around the edges with Eleanor fighting to gain the respect of her father (a Denver newspaper owner).

The film's final chapter includes plenty of attempts at humour as the action shifts to the court room (this part of the story very much inspired by real events), as Frank defends himself against accusations of robbery and murder.

The Return Of Frank James is a pleasingly textured western, finding the gloss of human conflict in the legendary stories of outlaws and villains.

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Movie Review: Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950)

A film noir focusing on a flawed detective, Where The Sidewalk Ends hits many of the right dark notes but falls just short of perfect sharpness.

In New York City, police detective Mark Dixon (Dana Andrews) is warned about his violent methods. Too quick with his fists, Dixon's hatred of hoodlums stems from wanting to distance himself from the memory of his father, an infamous thief. Dixon and his partner Klein (Bert Freed) investigate the murder of Texas businessman Morrison, stabbed to death by abusive low life Ken Paine at an illegal gambling joint run by notorious criminal Tommy Scalise (Gary Merrill).

Dixon tracks down Paine and accidentally kills him with a punch. In a cold panic, Dixon decides to cover up his role in Paine's death, and works to implicate Scalise for the murders of both Morrison and Paine. In the meantime Dixon also starts to fall in love with Paine's estranged wife Morgan (Gene Tierney). But when Morgan's father Jiggs (Tom Tully) becomes the chief suspect in Paine's murder, Dixon finds his troubles multiplying.

Where The Sidewalk Ends reunites director Otto Preminger with stars Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney, the talent trio responsible for 1944's Laura. And with a script by Ben Hecht, Where The Sidewalk Ends gets many things right. The black and white photography is rich with bright light sources cutting through imposing shadows, heavy coats, glistening streets, neon signs and an abundance of hooligans. Mark Dixon as the central protagonist is a deeply damaged man, fighting internal demons with a career rumbling in reverse gear. And the plot is filled with just enough complexity and coincidence to highlight the ironies of life without slipping into irrational territory.

The film's texture is enhanced by several nice touches. Mobster Scalise is smooth as silk, Gary Merrill perfecting a condescending smarm and augmenting it with constant sniffing of an unknown substance to keep his airways clean and his brain in overdrive. Dixon's partner Klein is also hard headed but has it under control, and gets a moment to shine with his wife when Dixon comes calling for financial help. And an assortment of secondary characters including a taxi driver, a dotty neighbour, a caustic diner waitress, an ex-convict on parole and numerous hissing musclemen add animation at every turn. Karl Malden shows up as the newly minted Lieutenant at Dixon's precinct.

While Dana Andrews does well and has plenty to bite into as the emotionally distressed Dixon, the character of Morgan is less successful. Gene Tierney is generally unable to do much with the underwritten role of a too-good woman with poor judgement in men. And while Hecht's writing is sturdy, it lacks a cutting edge in dialogue exchanges that sound appropriately belligerent but lack in wit.

Where The Sidewalk Ends is a worthwhile place to visit, one detective finally running out of fist room in the confrontation with the ghost of his father's legacy.

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Movie Review: Sundown (1941)

A World War Two adventure drama set in colonized Africa, Sundown carries the exotic feel of faraway military exploits but is hampered by low-budget production values and stiff performances.

In a remote military outpost in British East Africa, commander William Crawford (Bruce Cabot) is trying to keep the peace while protecting Allied interests from the creeping dangers of the global war. Rumours of guns being smuggled into the hands of a local aggressive tribe cause anxiety. Major Coombes (George Sanders) arrives to increase a sense of readiness. Also in and around the base are Italian prisoner turned cook Pallini (Joseph Calleia), Dutch geoscientist Jan Kuypens (Carl Esmond) and local big game hunter Dewey (Harry Carey).

The arrival of exotic and mysterious local leader Zia (Gene Tierney) signals the start of real trouble, as the suddenly well-armed tribesman Abdi Hammud (Marc Lawrence) threatens to lead his men in armed attacks against the outpost. Both Crawford and Coombes are infatuated by the alluring Zia, but they also have to find out who is supplying the guns and how to put a stop to the smuggling.

Directed by Henry Hathaway, Sundown features an early role for Gene Tierney, with support from a decent cast including an uncredited Woody Strode in his debut. Despite the confused mix of African tribalism infused with Arab shadings interacting with British colonialism in a California Mojave desert pretending to be East Africa, the story does carry potential as a sweaty action drama set in a forgotten outpost as the dark clouds of war move closer.

With Crawford's base accessible mainly by air, the film boasts an impressive number of scenes featuring assorted small planes taking off and landing in unforgiving terrain.

But otherwise this is a case of ambition exceeding talent and resources, with the film's good intentions hampered by cardboard execution. The screenplay (co-written by Charles G. Booth and Barré Lyndon) is a stiff exercise in emotionless line delivery. The story, simple as it may sound, is bungled and tripped up by incomprehensible events, including characters wandering in a trance into battle and some horribly inefficient use of firepower.

The action scenes border on amateurish, the acting is second rate at best, there are too many characters hanging around the base and none of them display any subtlety. The Italian Pallini emerges with the most animation, Joseph Calleia displaying admirable commitment, but while he emotes the others stand and stare, waiting for their next line.

And when it comes to Ms. Tierney, standing and staring is what the film does. Hathaway insists on long lingering close-ups every time she makes an entrance, applying a freezing agent in time and space to allow the camera to get its fill.

Sundown demonstrate how conceivably tasty ingredients in the jungle can be wasted in a rudimentary jumble.

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The Movies Of Gene Tierney

All movies starring Gene Tierney and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

The Return Of Frank James (1940)

Tobacco Road (1941)

Sundown (1941)

Laura (1944)

Leave Her To Heaven (1945)

The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947)

The Iron Curtain (1948)



Night And The City (1950)

Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950)

The Secret Of Convict Lake (1951)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947)

A fantasy romance set in England, The Ghost And Mrs. Muir is a charming love story between a lively young widow and the crusty ghost of a dead sea captain. The absurd premise works ridiculously well.

It's early in the 1900s, and one year on from the death of her husband Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) is fed up living with her stifling in-laws in London. She packs up her daughter Anna (Natalie Wood) and housekeeper Martha (Edna Best) and heads to the coast. She tangles with real estate agent Mr. Coombe (Robert Coote) and insists on renting Gull Cottage, a long-abandoned estate known to be haunted. Lucy soon encounters the ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison), the former owner of the house. He tries to scare her away but she is unmoved, and they soon negotiate a co-existence deal: he will allow her to stay in the house as long as she allows him to peacefully haunt her bedroom (formerly his room) at will, and he stays away from scaring Anna.

Over the following weeks and months the Captain and Lucy get to know each other, he calls her Lucia and she learns about his love of the sea and his eventful, adventurous life. When she hits a financial crisis he inspires her to write a book about his life. But when Lucy meets the attractive Miles Fairley (George Sanders), a successful author of children's books, the relationship between the ghost and Mrs. Muir is further complicated.

Directed with a deft touch by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, The Ghost And Mrs. Muir is a whimsical tale of impossible love serving as inspiration for a life change. An adaptation of the novel by R. A. Dick, the film strikes all the right notes. Instead of slipping into contrived drama or overwrought emotions, the film draws inspiration from the gorgeous yet rugged setting and confidently strides in self assured directions, pushing boundaries wherever it can.

The two central characters offer genuine emotional depth, and elevate the film from romance to an inquisitive exploration of life's opportunities, gained and lost. Lucy Muir is a feisty heroine who stares down the scare tactics of a ghost and pushes back to create a mutually respectful relationship. The presence of a ghost is treated as a matter of fact, and the Captain never compromises his salty language and manly ideals, but still finds the space to graciously accommodate a woman in his estate and his heart.

Mankiewicz cleverly allows the film to play both as a romantic fantasy and a psychological case study. Of course the prolonged interaction with the ghost may just be a creation of Lucy's mind to focus her courage, as a young woman breaking all the social norms and setting off on her own in a conservative society. Whether present as a ghost or as merely a prevailing influence in the new surroundings, Captain Gregg serves as inspiration and motivation, prodding Lucy onwards to confront her fears, define her own life, achieve financial independence and dare to again interact with men.

Miles Fairly finally emerges as the first potential opportunity for Lucy to find a suitable real man, and the lessons learned from the Captain will serve her well in dealing with forthcoming emotional upheavals. Regardless of Fairly's attributes, Lucy now has a high standard to measure him against.

Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison allow the film to sparkle, creating a compelling couple and finding the strangest chemistry built on contrast, a combustible mix of stubbornness, honesty and admiration. He is supposed to be gruff, she is supposed to be fragile, but Tierney and Harrison delve into the complexities below the surface to find the independence that binds the characters.

George Sanders arrives relatively late and adds the heartfelt passion of an author who is perhaps too eager to add excitement to a life he perceives as dull. Edna Best is excellent as the housekeeper who is also a lifelong and trusted companion, while Natalie Wood in an early role is amiable as young Anna.

Bernard Herrman conjures up one of his most celebrated music scores to augment the romance, contributing enormous depth to the majestic setting of a seaside house witnessing a poignant love. The Ghost And Mrs. Muir then goes on to offer one of the all-time weepiest and most bittersweet endings, a triumph of the souls that lives on for the ages.

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Movie Review: Laura (1944)

A classic film noir, Laura is a murder whodunnit filled with style, suspects, infatuation, and characters ready to deeply and truly betray each other.

Marketing executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) has been shot dead in her swanky New York City apartment. Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is called in to investigate, and quickly turns his attention to flamboyant newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb). Although much older than her, Waldo was Laura's protective mentor, vetting her lovers and showering her with gifts. In flashback Waldo introduces Mark to Laura's story, from which other murder suspects emerge.

Womanizing playboy Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price) was Laura's fiancé, and indeed she had just agreed to marry him, despite Waldo's dire warnings, before she was killed. Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson) was Laura's icy aunt, and she was carrying on her own relationship with Shelby. And Bessie Clary (Dorothy Adams) was Laura's loyal house servant. Now fully immersed in Laura's world, Mark finds himself falling in love with the image of the murder victim, as her haunting portrait looms large over him at her apartment.

Directed by Otto Preminger, Laura is a succulent mystery, a small film that comes together in just the right proportions to form a sparkling package. This is an investigation driven by complex emotions, entangled by love, lust and greed, a minefield of relationships that quickly entraps the detective.

About halfway through, Laura introduces the major plot twist, knocking the mystery on its head and steering the investigation in a new direction, with new evidence and a shocking new suspect suddenly entering the fray. The screenplay, by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt (adapting the Vera Caspary novel) builds up to that moment, introducing the characters in Laura's world, and then does not miss a beat as all previous assumptions are reset and Mark has to grapple with new realities.

At Laura's core are themes of agonizing, unreciprocated infatuation. Waldo is clearly obsessed and deeply possessive about Laura. She sees him as just a kind uncle figure. He wants a lot more, but is unlikely to ever get it. Laura's aunt Ann recognizes in the sleazy Shelby her ideal partner and perhaps her one last hope for a man of her own. Shelby perceives Ann as an easy victim to string along as a source of money, and has his eyes set on the younger and more glamorous Laura.

Mark is sucked into this world and gradually Laura starts to consume him. His investigation becomes about more than just finding a murderer; it is personal, as he succumbs to Laura's mysterious beauty while she dominates him from the high vantage point of her portrait. And Laura's character is a lingering enigma. A woman confident enough to hang a large self-portrait in her own apartment, and yet harbouring fundamental human weaknesses: she is incapable of pushing back against Waldo's domination, and unable to resist the dangerous charms of Shelby.

The mostly B+ cast members deliver functional performances, with Gene Tierney mesmeric in her most famous role. Laura benefits from the absence of star names, allowing Preminger to focus on the story and shift attention among the characters as required to follow the knotted threads of suspicion and doubt. And at the centre of the puzzle is Laura herself, a victim who nevertheless casts a spell with a cryptic sense of presence.

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