One of the more fascinating Film Noirs to come out of the 1940s, Robert Siodmak’s PHANTOM LADY (1944) is an interesting movie on many levels. It is based on pulp novelist Cornell Woolrich’s book of the same name. Woolrich (1903-1968) was a treasure trove of mystery/crime material in the 1940s being the source of several classic Noirs such as THE LEOPARD MAN (1943), BLACK ANGEL (1946), and THE WINDOW (1949). LADY also marked the beginning of director Siodmak’s run of memorable Noirs which include THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE and THE KILLERS (both 1946), and CRISS CROSS (1949). Finally it was the first of three teamings with female lead Ella Raines which gave her some of her best roles.
The story concerns a secretary who is in love with her boss. When his adulterous wife is killed, he’s convicted of the murder. We know the boss is innocent so she must find out who did it before he’s executed (they didn’t waste time in those days). She then goes undercover to discover the murderer’s identity. This leads to 2 remarkable scenes. First she does a reverse Val Lewton walk by stalking a bartender who could validate the boss’s alibi. Then she attends an underground jazz session and indulges in the most uninhibited sexual tease since the Pre-Code days (how did this get by the censors?), Exciting, yes, believable, no as the character’s supposed to be a Midwestern girl who ‘s even nicknamed “Kansas”.
PHANTOM LADY is essentially a one woman show although Ella Raines is not the titular character. The two male leads Franchot Tone and Donald Curtis are no better than they need to be but the supporting players, as is usually the case with 1940s B movies, are quite memorable especially Elisha Cook as the drummer in the jazz sequence and Thomas Gomez as a sympathetic police inspector. However the real stars of LADY are the stark B&W cinematography and the no-nonsense editing. Director Siodmak began his career in Germany before coming to America. He settled in at Universal in the 1940s and was at his best working with B movie units. Once his budgets increased in the 1950s then the quality of his movies declined.
Considered today to be one of the best B Noirs of the 1940s, PHANTOM LADY was soon forgotten after its initial release. Later Noirs with larger budgets and big name stars ensured its disappearance. It had regular showings on TV during the 1950s and 60s before being forgotten again. KLUTE, a big budget Jane Fonda crime thriller from 1971, paid homage to LADY by blatantly ripping off its ending. The movie resurfaced on YouTube earlier this century where it can still be found, this time in poor public domain copies. However there are now at least 2 new home video releases (DVD and Blu-ray) which have been completely restored with subtitles so that PHANTOM LADY can now be fully enjoyed and appreciated.
The Capsule Critic 