BEWITCHED
1944.....65 minutes
Phyllis Thaxter, Edmund Gwenn, Henry Daniels,
Jr.
Radio
legend and 3D pioneer Arch Oboler brings his story, Alter Ego,
to the screen in a low-budget yarn that benefits from a strong
cast and direction. Joan Ellis (Phyllis Thaxter) hears a voice
in her head (in flashbacks) shortly before she is to be married.
She flees to another city and even takes up with another man
to rid herself of the voice, but random words bring it back
at unexpected moments. The voice ultimately tells her to kill
her husband-to-be, and when a psychiatrist (Edmund Gwenn) determines
on the eve of her execution that Joan is possessed by a split
personality, a struggle ensues to see which one will survive.
Oboler uses radio techniques and tense scripting to bring his
thriller to visual life.
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