Gene Tierney in Whirlpool

Originally uploaded by rattlingdjs

This is a lovely, moody Film Noir featuring one of my favorite Film Noir/Melo actresses. Richard Conte plays her rich and kindly (though somehow smothering and sexist in the style of the day), husband. And Jose Ferrer is her smarmy "therapist." Gowns by Oleg Cassini, her husband. I love the opening scene in the department store. The director, Otto Preminger, creates a clean, spare look especially in the beginning of the film. Playing someone who is mentally unstable foreshadows Gene Tierney's own struggles with bipolar disorder and shock treatments. It is said that she had an affair with Jack Kennedy...my that fellow did get around. This is an absorbing film with great Noir performances, cinematography, fashionable sets and costumes, and some good plot twists and turns. Just another reason to love Noir!