Shadow on the Wall

Susan Starrling (Gigi Perreau) sees something no child should ever see: her stepmother's murder. Traumatized and withdrawn, she cannot help her imprisoned father (Zachary Scott), who's been wrongly convicted of the crime and faces execution, and she retains only the troubling image of the killer's shadow. Susan becomes the charge of two people: a dedicated psychiatrist (Nancy Davis, later Nancy Reagan), who resolves to heal Susan and unlock the child's dark secret, and Susan's worried Aunt Dell (Ann Sothern), who would rather that secret stay buried. In his only Hollywood feature, British director Patrick (Pat) Jackson guides costars Sothern, Scott and Davis to terrific performances playing characters outside their usual screen personas and builds crackling tension through silence as well as Andre Previn's shivery score. For stylish thrills with an overlay of light banter and dark dread, this Shadow on the Wall looms large.

• crime
• drama
• film
• noir