A few reviews

[Vultural]

I Wake Up Screaming - 1941 - 6/10

Rising socialite found murdered!  Prime suspects - sportswriter boyfriend and the girl’s sister.
Detective in charge is convinced of boyfriend’s guilt and he begins to grind him down.
Highly influential, half forgotten thriller / mystery filled with flashbacks, sharp dialogue and pursuits.
For me, this is where “the look” of Film Noir begins.



The story and characters are not Noir, however.  Time is still, barely, pre World Wart II.
Returning G.I.s would carry disillusionment and a grimmer outlook.  The tone of this harks to an earlier time.
An underrated Victor Mature fine as the cornered sportswriter.
Betty Grable, before her mass popularity, radiant as lush American good girl.
The star, though, is Laird Cregar (only 24, looks older), tackle sized with purring voice.



Cregar, and brilliantly stylized camera work.
I Wake Up Screaming is packed with angles, shadows, and inventive camera movement.
DVD has outstanding commentary by Eddie Muller:  anecdotes, histories, tragic lives of Cregar and Landis.