Not terribly original, slow to get going, and character motivations are often questionable. Despite all this, it's one of Lang's finest films, thanks to an incredibly rich atmosphere. The cinematography is breathtaking, thick with shadows and contrast and gorgeous images. The score is a little heavy at times, but perfectly suits the mood of dark mystery and twisted romance. Redgrave and Bennett are terrific, and the voiceover is poetic. The third act is haunting, with an amazing climax.

The cinematography is terrific, it really transmits the appropriate sense of dread in all the right scenes with great use of shadows and angles. The story is more psychological horror than noir but whatever you call it. it's captivating, which is what really counts. I wish the ending had less psychobabble but otherwise a great time.

I was scared to death by this gothic tale. Again, without the whole hays code thing, these movies could have been brilliant. Initially lacking a bit in both ends, but some of the scenes a terrific 40's gothic entertainment.

Would have scored higher if it weren't for the final 15 minutes, and in particular the awful final scene. It really gets dragged down with some ludicrous plot twists, which was unfortunate, because until then it was a solid psychological thriller. There's a heavy, foreboding atmosphere, almost like a gothic horror, and Lang's cinematography combined with Bennett's narration give the thing a strange, dreamlike quality. Worth a watch, but a shame about the ending.

A misfire, but the combination of Lang's atmospheric cinematography and pseudo-Freudianism (especially when the rooms appear) makes this one of the strangest Hollywood films I've seen in a while. How fitting is it that Joan Bennett starred in Dario Argento's Suspiria in the 70s; watching this it felt like a proto-Giallo that fed the imaginations of Italian genre directors.

On the bright side, this flick clips along at a very easy pace and features some of Lang's best direction and photography. Bennett and Redgrave are fine, as is the support cast! Unfortunately the story seems to be a mish-mash of early 40's Hitchcock -- most notably Rebecca, Suspicion and Shadow of a Doubt. That aside, one can argue that this is required Film Noir viewing. Give it a go.