The House on Telegraph Hill

Last updated
House on Telegraph Hill
The House on Telegraph Hill Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Wise
Screenplay byElick Moll
Frank Partos
Based onThe Frightened Child
1948 novel
by Dana Lyon
Produced by Robert Bassler
Starring Richard Basehart
Valentina Cortese
William Lundigan
Fay Baker
Cinematography Lucien Ballard
Edited byNick DeMaggio
Music by Sol Kaplan
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • May 12, 1951 (1951-05-12)(New York City)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

House on Telegraph Hill is a 1951 American film noir starring Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, and William Lundigan, and directed by Robert Wise. The film received an Academy Award nomination for its art direction. Telegraph Hill is a dominant hill overlooking the water in northeast San Francisco.

Contents

Plot

Polish woman Viktoria Kowalska (Valentina Cortese) has lost her home and her husband in the German occupation of Poland, and is imprisoned in the concentration camp at Belsen. She befriends another prisoner, Karin Dernakova (Natasha Lytess), who dreams of reuniting with her young son Christopher (Gordon Gebert), who was sent to live in San Francisco with a wealthy aunt.

Karin dies shortly before the camp can be liberated, and Viktoria, seeing a way to a better life, uses Karin's papers to assume her identity. The camp is liberated by Americans (in reality the camp was liberated by the British), and Viktoria is interviewed by Major Marc Bennett (William Lundigan), who gets her a place in a camp for people displaced by the war. She writes to Karin's Aunt Sophia in San Francisco, but receives a cable from lawyers that Sophia has died.

Four years later, Viktoria (still going by the name of Karin) is able to travel to New York City, where she meets with Chris's guardian Alan Spender (Richard Basehart), a distant relative of Sophia. "Karin" intends to gain custody of "her" son, but it becomes clear that Sophia has left her fortune to Chris when he comes of age. When she realizes that Alan is attracted to her, she decides that it will be easier to stay in America if she has an American husband. She allows him to romance her, and they soon marry. Alan takes Karin to San Francisco where Chris meets his "mother" for the first time, and she settles into Sophia's Italianate mansion on Telegraph Hill, where Chris lives with Alan and his governess, Margaret (Fay Baker).

Things seem idyllic at first, but tensions begin to mount between Karin and Margaret, who has not only raised Chris but also is in love with Alan. Margaret resents Karin for intruding on her life. Karin also is alarmed at the presence of a burnt-out, dangerously damaged playhouse overlooking the hill, which Chris claims to have damaged with an explosion from his toy chemistry set. He and Margaret beg her not to tell Alan because Margaret never has, but Karin is perplexed to discover that he already knows about it. Karin is pleased, however, to meet Marc Bennett again, learning he is an old schoolmate of her husband and a partner for the law firm that handles Sophia's affairs. He is attracted to Karin, as she is to him, but keeps a respectful distance.

Karin investigates the playhouse, but she is surprised by Alan while she is in there and nearly falls to her death through a hole in the floor. Alan pulls her up, but appears to be alarmed by her behavior. Soon after, the brakes on Karin's car fail on a day when Chris was supposed to be with her. She escapes unharmed but contacts Marc, telling him she believes that Alan is behind the accident, since he will inherit Sophia's money if she and Chris were to die. With Marc's help, she begins to investigate the accident, but can find no conclusive proof. She reveals her true identity and Marc tells her that he is in love with her. When he states his now-deceased father in his law firm might not have sent her the cable regarding Sophia's death, she grows significantly more nervous around Alan.

Karin discovers Sophia's newspaper obituary in Margaret's scrapbook confirming that the cable was sent three days before her death—proof that Alan must have sent it before he killed Sophia. She attempts to call Marc, but she is prevented from doing so when Alan arrives home. He does not let her out of his sight for the rest of the evening. When he brings in the orange juice that the pair drink every night before bed, she is sure her glass has been poisoned. When he briefly leaves the room, she attempts to call the police, but Alan left the phone off the hook in another room, and calls cannot be made. He returns to the bedroom and coerces her into drinking the orange juice, and after her, he drinks his own. Thinking himself safe, he confesses that he murdered Sophia and that he has given her an overdose of sedatives in her orange juice. Karin tells him that she has switched the glasses and that he has poisoned himself. She tries to telephone a doctor but cannot get through. Margaret is awakened by the commotion, and Alan begs her to call a doctor. Realizing that, in spite of his gaslighting, he doesn't love her and he will never stop trying to kill Chris, Margaret only pretends to call and watches as Alan dies.

Margaret is arrested for refusing to aid Alan, and Karin leaves the house with Marc and Chris to begin a new life.

Cast

Production notes

Parts of the film - including the runaway car scene - were shot on location in the Telegraph Hill area of San Francisco. Long shots of the exterior of the mansion were a combination of matte paintings and studio-made facades that were erected in front of the house at 1541 Montgomery Street. This was the location of the longtime Telegraph Hill restaurant called Julius' Castle, which closed its doors in 2008 after operating for 84 years. [1] Closer shots of the exterior entrance and driveway were filmed on a studio lot, and scenes for the garden and backyard were filmed on the lawn of Coit Tower. The corner market seen in the film was Speedy's New Union Grocery at 301 Union at the corner of Montgomery, which also closed in 2008 after 93 years in business. Marc Bennett's office building was the Crocker flatiron building located at One Post Street, which in 1969 was demolished and replaced by the skyscraper now known as McKesson Plaza. [2]

Reception

Critical response

When the film was released the staff at Variety magazine wrote, "This is a slow but interesting melodrama about a psychopathic killer, with San Francisco's quaint hill residential sections as background ... [with a] [s]inister mood, and heightened tensions, are well sustained, and performances by Basehart and Cortese convey the drama convincingly. William Lundigan is okay as the attorney who befriends the woman." [3]

In 2006 film critic Dennis Schwartz generally liked the film, writing "Robert Wise ( West Side Story / The Sound of Music ) ably directs this Gothic film noir ... The stark black-and-white photography by Lucien Ballard, the good performances (especially by Basehart) and the intriguing plot developments kept me tuned in throughout even though it was slow going. Of personal interest, Basehart and the Italian actress Cortese met for the first time on this film, and fell in love and married." [4]

Awards

Nomination

Related Research Articles

<i>San Francisco</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by D. W. Griffith, W. S. Van Dyke

San Francisco is a 1936 American musical-drama disaster film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, based on the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The film stars Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy. MacDonald's singing helped make this film a major hit, coming on the heels of her other 1936 blockbuster, Rose Marie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Basehart</span> American actor (1914–1984)

John Richard Basehart was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knight in the pilot episode of the TV series Knight Rider (1982), and provided the narration that was heard during the opening credits throughout the entire series.

<i>The Net</i> (1995 film) 1995 film by Irwin Winkler

The Net is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by Irwin Winkler and starring Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, and Dennis Miller. The film was released on July 28, 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentina Cortese</span> Italian actress (1923–2019)

Valentina Cortese, sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa, was an Italian film and theatre actress. In her 50 years spanning career, she appeared in films of Italian and international directors like Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Franco Zeffirelli, François Truffaut, Terry Gilliam, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and others.

<i>The Virgin Spring</i> 1960 Swedish drama film by Ingmar Bergman

The Virgin Spring is a 1960 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Considered as a precursor of rape and revenge film; set in medieval Sweden, it is a tale about a father's merciless response to the rape and murder of his young daughter. The story was adapted by screenwriter Ulla Isaksson from a 13th-century Swedish ballad, "Töres döttrar i Wänge". Bergman researched the legend of Per Töre with an eye to an adaptation, considering an opera before deciding on a film version. Given criticism of the historical accuracy of his 1957 film The Seventh Seal, he also invited Isaksson to write the screenplay. Other influences included the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon. Max von Sydow played Töre.

<i>Thieves Highway</i> 1949 American film noir

Thieves' Highway is a 1949 American film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese and Lee J. Cobb. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides, based on his novel Thieves' Market. The film was released on DVD as part of the Criterion Collection in 2005.

<i>The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill</i> 2003 American film

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is a 2003 documentary film directed, produced, and edited by Judy Irving. It chronicles the relationship between Mark Bittner, an unemployed musician who lives rent-free in a cabin in the Telegraph Hill-neighborhood of San Francisco, and a flock of feral parrots that he feeds and looks after. Bittner also wrote a memoir about his experiences with the parrots, which shares the title of the documentary, but has the added subtitle: A Love Story...with Wings.

<i>Tension</i> (film) 1949 film by John Berry

Tension is a 1949 American crime film noir directed by John Berry, and written by Allen Rivkin, based on a story written by John D. Klorer. It stars Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse and Barry Sullivan.

<i>Pat and Margaret</i> British drama telefilm

Pat and Margaret is a British television film written by comedian Victoria Wood. The story follows sisters Margaret, a cook, and Pat, a successful actress in the United States, after they are reunited on a television programme after spending 27 years apart. It stars Wood and her frequent comedy partner Julie Walters in the title roles, and features other past collaborators of Wood, including Thora Hird, Celia Imrie and Duncan Preston. First aired in 1994 on BBC One, the film was directed by Gavin Millar and produced by Ruth Caleb.

<i>Malaya</i> (film) 1949 film by Richard Thorpe

Malaya is a 1949 American war thriller film set in colonial Malaya during World War II directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Spencer Tracy, James Stewart and Valentina Cortese. The supporting cast features Sydney Greenstreet, John Hodiak, and Lionel Barrymore, with Richard Loo and Gilbert Roland. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>The Assault</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by Fons Rademakers

The Assault is a 1986 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Harry Mulisch. The film was directed and produced by Fons Rademakers. The main character is played by both Derek de Lint and Marc van Uchelen, whereas Monique van de Ven plays two different roles, one after the war and one in the war.

<i>Nob Hill</i> (film) 1945 film by Henry Hathaway

Nob Hill is a 1945 Technicolor film about a Barbary Coast, San Francisco, United States saloon keeper, starring George Raft and Joan Bennett. Part musical and part drama, the movie was directed by Henry Hathaway. It remains one of Raft's lesser known movies even though it was a big success, in part because it was a musical.

Gordon Alan Gebert Jr. is an American former child actor, architect, and professor predominantly known for playing Janet Leigh's son in Holiday Affair and for smaller roles. In adulthood, he trained as an architect and has taught at the City College of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Lundigan</span> American actor (1914–1975)

William Paul Lundigan was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include Dodge City (1939), The Fighting 69th (1940), The Sea Hawk (1940), Santa Fe Trail (1940), Dishonored Lady (1947), Pinky (1949), Love Nest (1951) with Marilyn Monroe, The House on Telegraph Hill (1951), I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1951) and Inferno (1953).

<i>Women Without Names</i> (1950 film) 1950 Italian film

Women Without Names is an Italian drama film of 1950 directed by Géza von Radványi and starring Valentina Cortese, Simone Simon, Vivi Gioi, and Françoise Rosay.

<i>Love and Troubles</i> 1958 film

Love and Troubles is a 1958 Italian comedy film directed by Angelo Dorigo.

<i>The Lady in the Van</i> 2015 film directed by Nicholas Hytner

The Lady in the Van is a 2015 British comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings, based on the memoir of the same name created by Alan Bennett.

Natasha Lytess was an actress, writer and drama coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Fairchild</span> Classical pianist and homeless woman and title character in The Lady in the Van

Margaret Mary Fairchild, also known as Mary Teresa Sheppard, Miss Shepherd and M T Sheppard, was a British homeless woman.

Lydia Simoneschi was an Italian actress and voice actress. During her career, she gave her voice to actresses mainly during the Golden Ages.

References

  1. The House on Telegraph Hill at the TCM Movie Database.
  2. ReelSF The House on Telegraph Hill
  3. Variety. Staff, film review, 1951. Accessed: July 17, 2013.
  4. Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, march 21, 2006. Accessed: July 17, 2013.
  5. "NY Times: The House on Telegraph Hill". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2008-12-21.