Cry Wolf (1947)
Directed by Peter Godfrey
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
The tense psychological drama Cry Wolf offers a fascinating if not altogether successful change of pace for action star Errol Flynn. Most of the story takes place at a remote and forbidding mansion, where Sandra Marshall (Barbara Stanwyck), the widow of the house's owner, arrives to take charge. An apparent golddigger, Sandra refuses to be bought off with a small cash settlement and insists on claiming her late husband's entire estate, which earns her a powerful enemy in the form of research scientist Mark Caldwell (Flynn). Upon learning that her headstrong sister-in-law Julie (Geraldine Brooks) is kept a virtual prisoner in the house, Sandra begins suspecting that Caldwell is up to no good-a suspicion seemingly confirmed when Julie dies under mysterious circumstances. But as the story slowly unravels, it becomes clear that Caldwell is actually the hero of the piece, while the villain is...well, best not to give too much away here. Cry Wolf was Geraldine Brooks' first film, and the second for her costar Richard Basehart.
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Keywords
danger, craziness, death, estate, family, family-secrets, heir, house, husband, inheritance, investigation, macabre, marriage, niece, Senator, suicide, uncle, widow/widower