Outrage | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ida Lupino |
Written by | Ida Lupino Malvin Wald Collier Young |
Produced by | Collier Young Malvin Wald |
Starring | Mala Powers Tod Andrews Robert Clarke |
Cinematography | Louis Clyde Stoumen Archie Stout |
Edited by | Harvey Manger |
Music by | Constantin Bakaleinikoff Paul Sawtell |
Production company | The Filmakers |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Outrage is a 1950 black-and-white independent [2] B-movie starring Mala Powers. It was directed by Ida Lupino. Lupino also co-wrote the script, along with the producers Malvin Wald and Lupino's then-husband Collier Young.
Ann Walton is a young bookkeeper who has a steady boyfriend, Jim Owens. When Jim announces that he has received a raise, the young couple decide to finally marry and inform Ann's parents about the engagement. Meanwhile, a man who works at the concession stand where Ann works takes an interest in her and tries to flirt with her, though she is uninterested.
Staying late at work one night, Ann notices she is being stalked and tries to run away from the man who is following her. She is unable to hide and is eventually caught and raped by the man who works the concession stand. The memory of a scar on the man's neck is the only thing able to come through to Ann in her trauma.
Returning home, Ann's parents learn of what happened and contact the police. Though the police and her family, friends, and fiancé, Jim, are supportive, Ann believes that the neighbors are gossiping about her and that Jim can no longer see her as she once was. After being forced to look at a lineup of men with scars, none of whom she can identify as her attacker, Ann runs away, taking the bus to Los Angeles on a whim.
While the bus driver is on a break, Ann overhears on the radio that her parents are looking for her and have identified her as the victim of a rape. Ann runs away from the bus and sprains her ankle where she is found by a man named Rev. Bruce Ferguson. He brings Ann to the orange farm belonging to his friends, the Harrisons. He does his best to help Ann out, eventually securing her a job as a bookkeeper for the Harrisons. Ann and Ferguson grow increasingly close. When Ferguson asks her to attend a local festival she agrees, but when another attendee pressures her for a kiss she is reminded of her rape, and attacks him with a wrench.
Ann is forced to stand trial, but Ferguson investigates why she would do such a thing and learns of her rape. He is able to persuade the judge to commute her sentence, and instead she sees a psychiatrist for a year.
After the psychiatric treatment has concluded, Ann wants to stay with Ferguson and pursue a relationship with him, but he tells her not to run from life's challenges and encourages her to return to her old life and to Jim.
Modern critics have given it mixed reviews. It holds a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews. [3]
Fred Camper from Chicago Reader in a positive review wrote "may not be stylistically original or completely successful, but it does treat the subject of rape with real sensitivity, especially for its era." [4]
In his review, Richard Brody of The New Yorker glowingly lauded the film and Lupino's direction saying,
Lupino turns prudish Hollywood conventions into a crucial part of the story: just as the word "rape" is never spoken in the movie, Ann is prevented from talking about her experience, and, spurred by the torment of her enforced silence and the trauma that shatters her sense of identity, she runs away from home. Lupino's drama blends Ann's story with an incisive view of the many societal failures that contribute to the crime—including the unwillingness of the legal system to face the prevalence of rape. Above all, Lupino depicts a culture of leers and wolf whistles and domineering boyfriends, and reveals the widespread and unquestioned aggression that women face in ostensibly consensual courtship and that's ultimately inseparable from the violence that Ann endures. [5]
Outrage, the first starring film role for Powers, was both controversial and remarkable for being only the second post-Code Hollywood film to deal with the issue of rape, after Johnny Belinda (1948).
In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally historically or aesthetically significant".
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda Vaccaro, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Salt and Barnard Hughes. Set in New York City, Midnight Cowboy depicts the unlikely friendship between two hustlers: naïve prostitute Joe Buck (Voight) and ailing con man Rico Rizzo (Hoffman), referred to as "Ratso".
The Searchers is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece, accompanied by his adopted nephew. It was shot in VistaVision on Eastmancolor negative with processing and prints by Technicolor.
Johnny Belinda is a 1948 American drama film, directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the 1940 Broadway stage hit of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris. The play was adapted for the screen by writers Allen Vincent and Irma von Cube.
"The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine", starring Ida Lupino, is episode four of the American television series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on October 23, 1959, on CBS. The title is a reference to 16 mm film.
Ida Lupino was a British actress, director, writer, and producer. Throughout her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed eight, working primarily in the United States, where she became a citizen in 1948. She is widely regarded as the most prominent female filmmaker working in the 1950s during the Hollywood studio system. With her independent production company, she co-wrote and co-produced several social-message films and became the first woman to direct a film noir, The Hitch-Hiker, in 1953.
On Dangerous Ground is a 1951 film noir directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino, and produced by John Houseman. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides based on the 1945 novel Mad with Much Heart by Gerald Butler.
Mary Ellen "Mala" Powers was an American actress.
The Outrage is a 1964 American Western film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson and William Shatner.
The Man I Love is a 1947 American film noir melodrama directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King and Bruce Bennett. Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers, the film is based on the novel Night Shift by Maritta M. Wolff. The title is taken from the George and Ira Gershwin song "The Man I Love", which is prominently featured.
State Fair is a 1945 American Technicolor musical film directed by Walter Lang, with original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is a musical adaptation of the 1933 film of the same name starring Janet Gaynor and Will Rogers. The 1933 film is an adaptation of the 1932 novel by Phil Stong. This 1945 musical film stars Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter, and Charles Winninger. State Fair was remade in 1962, starring Pat Boone and Ann-Margret.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation of Mark Twain's 1884 novel of the same name, starring Mickey Rooney in the title role. The supporting cast features Walter Connolly, William Frawley and Rex Ingram.
Deep Valley is a 1947 American drama film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Ida Lupino, Dane Clark and Wayne Morris. It was produced and released by Warner Bros. A young woman lives unhappily with her embittered parents in an isolated rural home until an escaped convict changes her dreary existence. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dan Totheroh.
The Lawless is a 1950 American film noir directed by Joseph Losey and featuring Macdonald Carey, Gail Russell and Johnny Sands.
Sentimental Journey is a 1946 American drama film directed by Walter Lang and starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara and William Bendix. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was remade in 1958 as The Gift of Love with Lauren Bacall and Robert Stack.
Singapore Woman is a 1941 American romantic drama film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Brenda Marshall, David Bruce and Virginia Field. The Warner Bros. B picture is a remake of Dangerous (1935) using leftover sets from The Letter (1940). The story was based on Laird Doyle's short Hard Luck Dame. At one point both Ida Lupino and Jeffrey Lynn were attracted to the project and the latter received a suspension from the studio after refusing to do the role. Although Negulesco was the sole-credited director, he left the production and the film was completed by producer Harlan Thompson.
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady is a 1950 American musical film directed by David Butler. It stars June Haver and Gordon MacRae. The story is mostly about the lives of musical performers in New York in the closing years of the 19th century. Most of the songs were written for the movie, but "Rose of Tralee" dates from the 19th century, and the song "The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady" dates from 1917.
Escape Me Never is a 1935 British drama film directed by Paul Czinner, produced by Herbert Wilcox, and starring Elisabeth Bergner, Hugh Sinclair and Griffith Jones. The score is by William Walton with orchestration by Hyam Greenbaum. Bergner was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance, but lost to Bette Davis. British readers of Film Weekly magazine voted the 1935 Best Performance in a British Movie to her. The film is an adaptation of the play Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy, which was based upon her 1930 novel The Fool of the Family. That book was a sequel to The Constant Nymph, which was also about the Sanger family of musical geniuses, but there is a disjunct among the books and the films: the Sanger brothers are never mentioned in the 1943 film version of The Constant Nymph. Another film adaptation of Escape Me Never was made in 1947 by Warner Bros.
Woman in Hiding is a 1950 American melodrama thriller film starring Ida Lupino, Howard Duff and Stephen McNally. It was directed by Michael Gordon, with cinematography by William H. Daniels. Peggy Dow, John Litel, and Taylor Holmes, appear in support. Some observers regard the picture as a film noir, a view not universally embraced.
Rose of Cimarron is a 1952 American Western film produced by Edward L. Alperson for 20th Century Fox. Despite the title, it has nothing to do with Rose Dunn the actual "Rose of Cimarron". The film is a revenge Western with a twist: the protagonist is a woman raised by the Cherokee avenging her parents who were murdered by whites.
Not Wanted is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elmer Clifton and an un-credited Ida Lupino and starring Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle and Leo Penn.