Obsession – (1949) 06/11/24

aka The Hidden Room.  The most accessible of the pictures director Edward Dmytryk made during his brief political exile in England is this tight ‘perfect crime’ murder thriller. A jealous husband plots to do away with his wife’s lover — keeping him alive in a ‘Hidden Room’ (the American release title) until he’s sure Scotland Yard has lost the scent. Then he’ll dispose of the body in a shudderingly horrible way — the title could be Dial ‘A’ for ACID.  Robert Newton is excellent as the cold, clever murderer, and Naunton Wayne is the engaging detective snooping for clues. Dmytryk’s excellent direction communicates some of the damp economic misery of postwar London. On Region Free Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
06/11/24