High Wall
Encyclopedia
High Wall is a film noir
, starring Robert Taylor
, Audrey Totter
and Herbert Marshall
. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt
from a screenplay by Sydney Boehm
and Lester Cole
, based on a play by Alan R. Clark and Bradbury Foote.
Slowly, she begins to doubt his guilt, and endangers her career when she begins to investigate the crime which eventually leads to another suspect. When Kenet's memory is finally jogged he remembers a clue that could prove his innocence, he escapes from the asylum looking for his wife's old boss Whitcombe (Marshall). The doctor and patient meet outside his building and sneak in and question the man.
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, starring Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
, Audrey Totter
Audrey Totter
Audrey Mary Totter is an American actress and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star of Austrian-Slovene and Swedish descent...
and Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford film Possessed . Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film...
from a screenplay by Sydney Boehm
Sydney Boehm
Sydney Boehm was an American screenwriter and producer. Boehm began his writing career as a newswriter for wire services and newspapers before moving on to screenwriting...
and Lester Cole
Lester Cole
Lester Cole was an American screenwriter.Born in New York City, Lester Cole began his career as an actor but soon turned to screenwriting. His first work was "If I had a Million." In 1933, he joined with John Howard Lawson and Samuel Ornitz to establish the Writers Guild of America.In 1934, Cole...
, based on a play by Alan R. Clark and Bradbury Foote.
Plot
A man suffering from a recurring brain injury during the war Steven Kenet (Taylor), appears to have strangled his wife after catching her living in her boss' apartment. He blacks out while his hands are around the woman's neck. He confesses and is committed to a county asylum. At the asylum, Dr. Ann Lorrison (Totter) is initially cynical about Kenet's story and reluctance to undergo treatment.Slowly, she begins to doubt his guilt, and endangers her career when she begins to investigate the crime which eventually leads to another suspect. When Kenet's memory is finally jogged he remembers a clue that could prove his innocence, he escapes from the asylum looking for his wife's old boss Whitcombe (Marshall). The doctor and patient meet outside his building and sneak in and question the man.
Cast
- Robert TaylorRobert Taylor (actor)Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
as Steven Kenet - Audrey TotterAudrey TotterAudrey Mary Totter is an American actress and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star of Austrian-Slovene and Swedish descent...
as Dr. Ann Lorrison - Herbert MarshallHerbert MarshallHerbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
as Willard I. Whitcombe - Dorothy PatrickDorothy PatrickDorothy Patrick, was an American film actress and a John Robert Powers model.-Early Life:...
as Helen Kenet - H. B. WarnerH. B. WarnerH. B. Warner was a British actor.-Early life:He was born Henry Byron Charles Stewart Warner-Lickford in St John's Wood, London, England in 1875...
as Mr. Slocum - Warner Anderson as Dr. George Poward
- Moroni OlsenMoroni OlsenMoroni Olsen was an American actor.-Biography:Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Marsha Hoverholst who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon. Some sources have claimed that Olsen's birth name was John Willard Clawson, or even John Willard...
as Dr. Philip Dunlap - John RidgelyJohn RidgelyJohn Ridgely was an American film character actor with over 100 film credits. He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a memorable role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss .The Chicago, Illinois-born actor...
as Asst. District Attorney David Wallace - Morris AnkrumMorris AnkrumMorris Ankrum was an American radio, television and film character actor.-Early life:Born Morris Nussbaum in Danville, Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in academics. After graduating from USC with a law degree, he went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of...
as Dr. Stanley Griffin - Elisabeth RisdonElisabeth RisdonElisabeth Risdon was an English film actress. She appeared in over 140 films between 1913 and 1952. An attractive beauty in her youth she usually played in society parts...
as Mrs. Kenet (Steven's mother) - Vince BarnettVince BarnettVince Barnett was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in over 180 films between 1930 and 1975....
as Henry Cronner - Jonathan HaleJonathan HaleJonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
as Emory Garrison - Charles ArntCharles ArntCharles Arnt was an American film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1933 and 1962.He was born in Michigan City, Indiana, and died in Orcas Island, Washington from pancreatic and liver cancer.-Selected filmography:...
as Sidney X. Hackle (lawyer) - Ray Mayer as Ray Mayer (orderly)