Nora Prentiss

A respected doctor (Kent Smith) fakes his death, deserts his family, throws away his career and drives himself to the edge of madness -- all for the love of saloon singer Nora Prentiss (Ann Sheridan). From the opening shot of a media circus engulfing a handcuffed mystery man to the final scene of a scarred face peering from a cell window, Nora Prentiss ensnares viewers in its atmospheric world of sex, violence, shady motives, seedy nightclubs and claustrophobic lensing by master cinematographer James Wong Howe (Hud, Body and Soul) that makes the camera a vital character in the drama. A harrowing twist ending adds another layer of shadow to this smoky, moody, totally absorbing film noir.

• film
• noir