ANATOLE LITVAK

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 1948.  Hal Wallis Productions.  Screenplay by Lucille Fletcher, based on her radio play.  Cinematography by Sol Polito.  Produced by Anatole Litvak, Hal B. Wallis.  Music by Franz Waxman.  Production Design by Hans Dreier, A. Earl Hedrick.  Costume Design by Edith Head.  Film Editing by Warren Low.  Academy Awards 1948.

Terrific adaptation of the marvelous radio play by Lucille Fletcher. A bedridden woman (Barbara Stanwyck) goes to make a phone call and accidentally overhears another conversation when the lines get mixed up. The dialogue she hears is two men plotting a murder, motivating her to contact the authorities before it’s too late and the innocent victim is killed. Unfortunately, her further investigation into the matter reveals that it might be her husband (Burt Lancaster) who is arranging to have her rubbed out. Marvelous work by Stanwyck and an ever-tightening plot that boils to a fantastic and terrifying climax!