The Upturned Glass (1947)
Country: GB
Technical: bw 90m
Director: Lawrence Huntington
Cast: James Mason, Rosamund John, Pamela Mason
Synopsis:
A successful brain surgeon turned criminal psychologist lectures his class about the perfect murder committed by a sane man. Except that he is a paranoid psychotic and he is actually exposing his own plan, one which does not turn out so perfectly as he had planned.
Review:
Co-produced by Mason with Betty and Sydney Box, this intriguing psychological drama spouts all sorts of claptrap about austere and fragile vessels, but for much of its length keeps us guessing as to what on earth will happen next. Positively Hitchcockian at times, with its keys and vertiginous falls, it also boasts an unusually good motivic score in place of the usual mush. Ultimately it fails to reconcile the opposing facets of Mason's character, however, and he promptly decamped to Hollywood. Interestingly, it was conceived and written by Mason, who plays the aunt, and Monaghan, who has a walk-on as a U.S. Army truck driver.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 90m
Director: Lawrence Huntington
Cast: James Mason, Rosamund John, Pamela Mason
Synopsis:
A successful brain surgeon turned criminal psychologist lectures his class about the perfect murder committed by a sane man. Except that he is a paranoid psychotic and he is actually exposing his own plan, one which does not turn out so perfectly as he had planned.
Review:
Co-produced by Mason with Betty and Sydney Box, this intriguing psychological drama spouts all sorts of claptrap about austere and fragile vessels, but for much of its length keeps us guessing as to what on earth will happen next. Positively Hitchcockian at times, with its keys and vertiginous falls, it also boasts an unusually good motivic score in place of the usual mush. Ultimately it fails to reconcile the opposing facets of Mason's character, however, and he promptly decamped to Hollywood. Interestingly, it was conceived and written by Mason, who plays the aunt, and Monaghan, who has a walk-on as a U.S. Army truck driver.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 90m
Director: Lawrence Huntington
Cast: James Mason, Rosamund John, Pamela Mason
Synopsis:
A successful brain surgeon turned criminal psychologist lectures his class about the perfect murder committed by a sane man. Except that he is a paranoid psychotic and he is actually exposing his own plan, one which does not turn out so perfectly as he had planned.
Review:
Co-produced by Mason with Betty and Sydney Box, this intriguing psychological drama spouts all sorts of claptrap about austere and fragile vessels, but for much of its length keeps us guessing as to what on earth will happen next. Positively Hitchcockian at times, with its keys and vertiginous falls, it also boasts an unusually good motivic score in place of the usual mush. Ultimately it fails to reconcile the opposing facets of Mason's character, however, and he promptly decamped to Hollywood. Interestingly, it was conceived and written by Mason, who plays the aunt, and Monaghan, who has a walk-on as a U.S. Army truck driver.