This black and white film noir movie from director Robert Wise starts as an inquiry into the plight of people rescued from Hitler’s concentration camps and then develops into a thriller. The film raises the tension by borrowing a few pages from Alfred Hitchcock’s book.
Valentina Cortese stars as Victoria Kowelska, a Polish survivor of Belsen who assumes the identity (and papers) of a close friend named Karin Dernakova (Natasha Lytess), who died in the camp and travels to America to join Karin’s young son, Chris (Gordon Gebert) and his family in San Francisco.
On arrival in the US, she discovers that Karin’s family have died, and the only surviving relation is Alan Spender (Richard Basehart), who is now Christopher’s guardian and the executor of the estate, which has been willed to the young boy.
Alan is attracted to her, and she finds him charming. Even though she knows little about him, the pair marry hastily and move into an old Victorian mansion on Telegraph Hill.
Victoria quickly grows fond of young Chris (who doesn’t remember his mother and takes a great liking to Victoria), although his possessive governess, Margaret (Fay Baker), cooly insists on having full charge of the boy.
After twice escaping unhurt from puzzling accidents, Victoria begins to worry for her safety while wondering if she could be imagining things. She doesn’t want to believe that someone is trying to murder her (and Chris), but it definitely looks that way.
Snooping around the house, she finds evidence that her husband has already killed once.
Although terrified and depressed, she manages to outwit him in the third attempt on her life.
Recently widowed Richard Basehart and Valentina Cortese fell in love while making The House on Telegraph Hill and were married within a year.
Alan Spender
Richard Basehart Victoria Kowelska
Valentina Cortese Major Marc Bennett
William Lundigan Margaret
Fay Baker Chris
Gordon Gebert Dr Burkhardt
Steven Geray Joseph C. Callahan
Herb Butterfield Kei
Kei Thin Chung Mr Whitmore
John Burton Mrs Whitmore
Katherine Meskill Tony (Grocer)
Mario Siletti Man At Accident
Charles Wagenheim Mechanic
David Clarke Maria
Tamara Schee Karin Dernakova
Natasha Lytess Inspector Hardy
Ashmead Scott Chinese Singer
Mari Young Farrell
Tom McDonough Detective Ellis
Harry Carter
Director
Robert Wise
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Valentina Cortese stars as Victoria Kowelska, a Polish survivor of Belsen who assumes the identity (and papers) of a close friend named Karin Dernakova (Natasha Lytess), who died in the camp and travels to America to join Karin’s young son, Chris (Gordon Gebert) and his family in San Francisco.
After twice escaping unhurt from puzzling accidents, Victoria begins to worry for her safety while wondering if she could be imagining things. She doesn’t want to believe that someone is trying to murder her (and Chris), but it definitely looks that way.
