Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 24-May-09
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Hangover Square (1945)

After wrapping their Jack the Ripper film The Lodger, director John Brahm and actors Laird Cregar and George Sanders immediately dove into another tale of madness, sex, and murder called Hangover Square. Experience must have honed their skills, for their second endeavor is a wonderfully dark melodrama without the distracting weakness of its (still pretty good) predecessor.

In the final performance before his untimely death, Cregar plays a composer of classical music named George Harvey Bone who lives in London circa 1900. Despite having a promising future, George suffers from periods of amnesia brought on by stress. Concerned that he might be committing violence during these periods, he confides in his patron's smitten daughter (Faye Marlowe) and a detective trained as a psychologist (Sanders). They want the poor, passionate artist to be innocent and carefree just as we in the audience do. However we know what they do not: that George's fears are well founded and he has already committed murder.

As if finishing a make-or-break concerto is not stressful enough, George becomes entangled with a nightclub singer (Linda Darnell) who seduces him into writing popular songs to advance her career. A hussy leading a sucker by his baton can be a tedious theme, but the urgency of the plot and Darnell's riveting presence smoothes this part of the story. In addition, the conclusion to this relationship involves a great scene that showcases Brahm's knack for startling tableaux. And there is more. Watched closely by the police, George completes his masterpiece and prepares to unveil it to the world just as the truth closes in. The crescendo expresses the desperate hope and misfortune that permeate the movie, giving George (and Cregar) a memorable send-off. Hangover Square is opera for people who prefer DVDs to divas, an example of how majestic and exhilarating (somebody else's) tragedy can be.

Copyright © 2009 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.