Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts scripted this soap opera-type thriller, based on their play, and it's a hoot. It's a far from airtight script, but holding it all together is a superior cast of familiar faces. Granted, some of them - especially Anthony Quinn - are required to give hilariously melodramatic performances that don't exactly evoke a lot of sympathy. The viewer is more inclined to think that the character is just getting what they deserve.
Lana Turner, in full glamour mode and decked out in Jean Louis gowns, is unhappily married to shipping magnate Lloyd Nolan, a tough and crusty old type. When the sickly Nolan passes away, it seems that Turner is free to continue her relationship with her doctor lover Quinn, but *somebody* knows every move that Quinn and Turner make, even as he resorts to murder.
The cast is further stacked with players like Sandra Dee (as Nolan's daughter from his first marriage), John Saxon (as a tugboat operator who's dating Dee), Ray Walston (as the affable chauffeur who has little to no luck betting on horse races), Anna May Wong (as the housemaid - this was her final film role before passing away), Virginia Grey (as Nolan's secretary), Dennis Kohler (as the son whom Turner and Nolan had together), and Richard Basehart (as Nolan's fairly slimy business associate). They're all entertaining to watch, which helps "Portrait in Black" over its rough spots and over the top moments. Ex.: heavy storms which occur during key dramatic sequences.
"Portrait in Black" is hardly great cinema, but as a filmic portrait of Glamour (with a capital G) - costumes, jewels, sets, the whole shebang - it's certainly amusing enough, leading to a finale where the bedevilled Quinn is just emoting for everything that he's worth.
Six out of 10.
Lana Turner, in full glamour mode and decked out in Jean Louis gowns, is unhappily married to shipping magnate Lloyd Nolan, a tough and crusty old type. When the sickly Nolan passes away, it seems that Turner is free to continue her relationship with her doctor lover Quinn, but *somebody* knows every move that Quinn and Turner make, even as he resorts to murder.
The cast is further stacked with players like Sandra Dee (as Nolan's daughter from his first marriage), John Saxon (as a tugboat operator who's dating Dee), Ray Walston (as the affable chauffeur who has little to no luck betting on horse races), Anna May Wong (as the housemaid - this was her final film role before passing away), Virginia Grey (as Nolan's secretary), Dennis Kohler (as the son whom Turner and Nolan had together), and Richard Basehart (as Nolan's fairly slimy business associate). They're all entertaining to watch, which helps "Portrait in Black" over its rough spots and over the top moments. Ex.: heavy storms which occur during key dramatic sequences.
"Portrait in Black" is hardly great cinema, but as a filmic portrait of Glamour (with a capital G) - costumes, jewels, sets, the whole shebang - it's certainly amusing enough, leading to a finale where the bedevilled Quinn is just emoting for everything that he's worth.
Six out of 10.