Blind Alley (film)

Blind Alley
Blind Alley
Directed by	Charles Vidor
Screenplay by	Philip MacDonald; Michael Blankfort; Albert Duffy
Based on	James Warwick; (from a play by)
Starring	Chester Morris; Ralph Bellamy; Ann Dvorak
Cinematography	Lucien Ballard
Edited by	Otto Meyer
Color process	Black and white
Production; company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	May 11, 1939;
Running time	69 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Blind Alley is a 1939 American film noir crime film directed by Charles Vidor and stars Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy and Ann Dvorak. The film was adapted from the Broadway play of the same name by James Warwick.

It was remade as The Dark Past in 1948, with William Holden and Lee J. Cobb. The remake was also released by Columbia Pictures.

Plot

Hal Winston takes noted psychologist Dr. Shelby and his family hostage in their own home. Winston is a murderer and prison escapee with the cops on his tail. After meticulous planning with his accomplices, he forcefully enters the home of Dr. Shelby and threatens the occupants to remain complicit. During this time, Shelby examines Winston's psyche to reveal what has made the murderer who he is. Through many discussions, Shelby successfully uncovers the answers to his questions.

The film takes place over the course of one night, while the criminals wait for a boat to escape.

Cast

Chester Morris as Hal Wilson
Ralph Bellamy as Dr. Shelby
Ann Dvorak as Mary
Joan Perry as Linda Curtis
Melville Cooper as George Curtis
Rose Stradner as Doris Shelby
John Eldredge as Dick Holbrook (as John Eldridge)
Ann Doran as Agnes
Marc Lawrence as Buck
Stanley Brown as Fred Landis
Scotty Beckett as Davy Shelby
Milburn Stone as Nick
Marie Blake as Harriet

Reception

David Sterritt of TCM praised Blind Alley's cinematography, and observed it had influenced the home invasion subgenre.[1]

In 1939, The New York Times reviewer wrote: "the rather whimsical experiment of grafting Dr. Freud's facile theory of dream symbols on a typical Columbia melodrama has justified itself admirably in the case of Blind Alley, at the Globe, by producing, on the whole, a rather better-than-typical Columbia melodrama".[2]

Radio adaptation

Blind Alley was presented on The Screen Guild Theatre on February 25, 1940. The adaptation starred Edward G. Robinson and Joseph Calleia in the starring roles.[3][4][5]

Technical

The film is in 1.37 : 1 aspect ratio and, printed, is 8 reels long.[1]

References

Sterritt, David. "Blind Alley". TCM. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
"The Screen; 'Blind Alley,' Featuring Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy and Ann Dvorak, Opens at the Globe". The New York Times. May 22, 1939. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
"Sunday Caller". Harrisburg Telegraph. February 24, 1940. p. 17. Retrieved July 20, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
"The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre". RadioGOLDINdex. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
"Screen Guild Theater". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2015-11-16.

External links

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[blindalley-1] Sterritt, David. "Blind Alley". TCM. Retrieved April 25, 2016.

[2] "The Screen; 'Blind Alley,' Featuring Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy and Ann Dvorak, Opens at the Globe". The New York Times. May 22, 1939. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.

[3] "Sunday Caller". Harrisburg Telegraph. February 24, 1940. p. 17. Retrieved July 20, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[Goldin_Gulf-4] "The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre". RadioGOLDINdex. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2015-11-16.

[Archive_Screen_Guild-5] "Screen Guild Theater". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2015-11-16.