WHIRLPOOL

Probably Preminger's most underrated masterpiece, (nobody seems to like this one), but I think it can take its place up there with "Laura", "Fallen Angel", "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and "Angel Face". It's only fault really, and it's a big one, is the casting of Richard Conte as a brilliant psychiatrist when the part cried out for Dana Andrews. He's married to Gene Tierney, (who else!), who happens to be a kleptomaniac although for all his brilliance he hasn't figured that out. Unfortunately for her, her kleptomania has been uncovered by nasty and murderous hypnotist Jose Ferrer who uses his knowledge to worm his way into her life in the pretext of curing her.

Both Tierney and Ferrer are superb, good enough in fact to make this one of the best movies dealing with psychiatry to come out of Hollywood at the time. The plot may be a bit hard to swallow but Preminger's handling of it is magnificent and it's got a wonderful, grown-up and intelligent screenplay by Ben Hecht and Andrew Solt from a novel by Guy Endore. Perhaps its failure might have been attributed to the miscasting of Conte or on the unlikely, melodramatic plot but it cries out for reassessment and it's an absolutely essential part of the Preminger canon.