First off this is not noir folks. Noir involves a detective or some male who is duped by a treacherous female. That is not Cast a Dark Shadow. It is an outstanding physcho thriller with a slightly weak finale. Everyone is great here - Bogarde playing one of his many sinister roles, Kay Walsh with her usual restrained and sometimes not so restrained hysteria. But the real treasure here is Margaret Lockwood as a wealthy widow. Earthy, slightly vulgar, tough and no nonsense. This should have launched her into playing similar characters as she aged but shockingly this was not the case. The film was not a box office success for which she was inexplicably blamed by director Lewis Gilbert . Thanks Lew you jerk. Some movie career trajectories make no sense.
Review of Cast a Dark Shadow
