evening1 When I saw that Anthony Quinn was in this, I knew it was going to be good, and, while it's not on the level of his epics like "La Strada" or "Barabbas," it's quite entertaining. Quinn's character, Dr. David Rivera, looks to be the height of respectability, having rich clients like shipping magnate Matthew Cabot (Lloyd Nolan) and wearing nice cashmere sweaters, but on the inside he's consumed with lust for Cabot's picture-perfect wife, Sheila (Lana Turner), and obsessed with killing Cabot so that he can have Sheila to himself. When he tells Sheila that in the interests of everyone involved, he's fleeing to a job in Zurich, Switzerland, Sheila's big mistake is that she doesn't say, "Ok, GO!" She can't bear to relinquish her hunky lover, so she goes along with a scheme to dispatch the invalid Cabot with an injection of air.In the tradition of Zola's "Therese Raquin" and other dramas about illicit lovers who think murder will solve their problems, David and Sheila find that happiness eludes them after the killing. When Sheila receives a blackmailer's letter, David latches on to a new obsession -- to kill the person who's figured out the scheme. Meanwhile, Sheila grows crazed from the lack of lovin' she's getting. "Stop pretending we're normal people," David implores. "Do you know what it means to sit and wait for a blackmailer?""I've never known what it's like to awaken from sleep and find you there," Sheila bleats. "--And now I never will!" Oh, boo HOO!Richard Basehart excels as Mason, Cabot's sleazy lawyer, who sets about trying to seduce and marry Sheila before her husband's corpse is cold. This film provides an intriguing twist on the whodunnit: We know who the killers are, so we keep busy trying to guess at who might be trying to profit from their nefarious act. As the plot unfurls, David starts to look like a major loony-tune as it appears he'll stop at nothing to quash potential threats. The movie ends extremely surprisingly, as the last person we'd have suspected to be the letter writer turns out to be the culprit. It doesn't make a great deal of sense, but it is fun to watch.

Tad Pole " . . . of a Napa Valley fruit picker" to be your U.S. Congressman, immigrant ban appellate judge, or personal doctor armed with an air bubble injecting hypodermic needle killing machine, Universal Pictures anticipates Leader Trump's warning against allowing murderers and rapists from the South to infiltrate our once-great American Homeland. Universal taps Anthony Quinn to portray one of these Southern Threats for its PORTRAIT IN BLACK feature. At 1:34:05 Universal even has a narrator intone the Hippocratic Oath to illustrate for viewers how enabling hot-blooded outliers to practice medicine here makes a mockery of our most sacred profession. Should one of these medical miscreants get within a needle's length of Leader Trump's arteries, Universal warns, Wall Street will be forever blowing bubbles. PORTRAIT IN BLACK also cautions this nation's Trump disciples against the danger posed by young, exotic "trophy wives," such as Lana Turner's character "Sheila." Chicks such as Sheila might be pretty as a rose to look at, but many harbor deadly bee stings inside. Leader Trump would have been just slightly older than Black Widow Sheila's young son "Peter" when PORTRAIT IN BLACK was hung out to dry. Let's hope he was paying attention to its lessons.

ejmartiniak Portrait in Black is one of those star-studded, glitzy color productions of the early 1960s, and quite often, those movies fell flat on their faces. This one, though, despite being filled with clichés, works. There is the cliché of the lovely but sexually-frustrated Sheila (Lana Turner), wife of a much older, possessive, and abusive husband, Matthew Cabot, played by Lloyd Nolan, who just happens to be loaded (he is the head of a San Francisco-based shipping line). Perky Sandra Dee plays Turner's step-daughter, who predictably does not care for her father's second wife. She in turn, is romantically involved with the rugged John Saxon, the ruggedly handsome but poor head of a small tugboat firm--a match her imperious father would never countenance. Enter Anthony Quinn as the handsome doctor, daily stopping by the mansion to minister to the terminally ill Mr. Cabot. Soon, he finds that fringe benefits come with his visits, as Mrs. Cabot eagerly falls into the strong embraces of the good doctor--she certainly didn't fall for his intellect. One thing leads to another; the cantankerous Matthew conveniently dies, and the rest of the film deals with who knew what and when, how the protagonists deal with blackmail, and how the death pulls them apart instead of vice versa. Supporting roles are noteworthy--Virginia Grey and Anna May Wong--former 1930s glamor queens play the loyal secretary and housekeeper, respectively. But the best supporting performance kudos go to Richard Basehart as Howard Mason, Cabot's scheming business associate. Mr. Basehart embraces the role of the suave, cutthroat businessman who is clearly out for his own advancement. He has proved he will not hesitate to hurt anyone in his grasp for power and wealth. He has an eye for his employer's wife and a mocking, jealous disdain for the supposedly loyal ministrations of Quinn's Dr. Rivera. Mr. Basehart plays Howard with a delightful smarminess that makes him the funnest character of the entire film. Yet, you get the feeling that deep down, Howard can be a decent person--though he has been in love with Sheila for years, he never made a move on her while her husband was alive--perhaps out of loyalty? Subtle facial expressions in his scenes and tones of voice from Mr. Basehart make Howard more than a one-dimensional slimeball. The stunning wardrobe changes Lana Turner parades through the film, the San Francisco location shots, the set design of the mansion, and the tight direction of Ross Hunter make the film a must see.

MartinHafer Lana Turner plays a woman married to a rich but both emotionally and physically abusive rich jerk (Lloyd Nolan) who is also an invalid. Naturally she can't stand the way she's being treated and decides to do something permanent to remedy the situation. She and her doctor (Anthony Quinn) boyfriend she is keeping on the side decide to inject air into Nolan's veins to kill him--though I have learned this is NOT a viable way of killing someone, as it takes A LOT of air to do this, not the 'few air bubbles' you hear about in movies and on TV. So, at the outset the film has a strike against it for not getting its facts straight.Unexpectedly, after Nolan's death a lot of weird things start happening--almost like the ghost of Nolan is moving about the home. However, it really turns out to be the doings of a blackmailer--and they know too much about this death. To make things worse, Turner's character is a dope--and does things that could incriminate her--such as panicked phone calls to her lover almost immediately after the funeral! Again, chalk this up to poor writing, as any reasonable person would have tried harder to hide their tracks. Because of all this, the film would have been surprising if someone had NOT been trying to blackmail them! the rest of the film consists of the lovers trying to figure out who knows--and stop them permanently if they can.Despite some very bad acting by Turner (perhaps the badly written part for her just made her seem like a bad actress--especially the scene occurring at the 82 minute mark), some dumb moves by Quinn's character as well and a poorly conceived murder, the film does have some exciting moments. For example, the confrontation scene between Richard Basehart and Turner is well handled and exciting. But, unfortunately, due to some overly dramatic and soapy moments, these good ones are lost amid the glossy mess. Overall, I'd say this is a decent time-passer but sure could have been a lot better. Too bad the plot and acting just didn't seem all that important to the director.