cinema history class: shock

Session: Horror-Noir—Does It Exist, Week 3
Movie: Shock (1946)
Directed by Alfred Werker

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A woman goes into shock when she witnesses a murder. A psychiatrist is called in to treat her, but guess what... Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:

I had a bit of trouble categorizing this movie. Horror? Not really. A whodunnit? No, since we the viewers know exactly what happened. A caper film? That implies more planning on the part of the criminals. I eventually settled on psychological thriller.

With that part out of the way, I couldn't help wondering if it was really a flim noir. It had the nervous-making use of shadows that I've come to expect from films noir, but it was missing the clever rapid fire dialog that I've come to expect from the genre. Keith and Dave defended the film's status as noir, noting that there's no one element that's required. They also noted that that's why it's so hard to define film noir as a genre.

Unlike the rest of the class, I'm not a huge Vincent Price fan. I've seen a bunch of those gothic horrors and Poe adaptations that he's in, and I often find him too over the top to enjoy. So I was pleasantly surprised to see this, made before Price had made it big. He was subdued but fascinating. And that's a Vincent Price I like much better than the hammy winking Price.

Ratings:

Me: 9
Dave: 9.8
Ethan: 8