User Reviews

Although this film is included in most standard reference works on film noir, it's a "women's picture," belonging to that group of films ("Gaslight," "Midnight Lace," etc.) in which a husband is trying to drive his wife to suicide so that he may inherit her money and marry the floozy he's been carrying on with. In true noir, the plot situation would be reversed: a sexy woman entrapping a man to do murder ("Double Indemnity," "The Postman Always Rings Twice" etc.)

This film held my attention throughout and features a number of interesting performances. Here Don Ameche is cast against type as Richard Courtland, the conniving husband. Claudette Colbert plays Alison, his wife. She gives a satisfactory portrait of a very outgoing, charming society woman. Colbert was 44 when she made this film, but she appears younger. Raymond Burr turns up as a good guy here, playing a police lieutenant, rather opposite to the way Burr was usually cast, especially in noir. Rita Johnson does a fine bit as a ditzy rich society woman, Babry (ha!), a friend of Alison's from school days. A lot of this character would have been too much, but screenwriter St. Clair McKelway allowed her in just when she was needed to relieve tension. Hazel Brooks did a swell job as Daphne, Richard's cold, icy mistress who's in a hurry to see Alison dead so she can marry Richard and gain access to all of Alison's money. And Robert Cummings, in one of his more appealing screen portraits, plays Bruce Elcott, Mr. Right, Alison's savior.

The film has a good opening. Alison wakes up on a train, not knowing how she got there. The train is shown rushing through the night, Alison unable to stop it. There's a good sense of loss of control, of being whisked along to some unknown destination, powerless to stop the force taking her there. Is this nightmare or reality?

This film was directed by Douglas Sirk who went on during the 50s to direct a number of fancy melodramas with aging movie queens ("Imitation of Life"- Turner, etc.), but some of the hallmarks of those later productions are to be seen here in the fine wardrobe Colbert wears, in the fashionable Sutton Place setting, in the high society background.

NOTE: MAJOR SPOILER HERE, so don't read further if you don't want to know the film's outcome. But I want to correct an error in a major noir reference source. The plot summary in Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style by Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward and others has a major error in it and Ward's comment, which follows the plot summary, makes a misinterpretation because it relies on this error.

I watched the film's conclusion more than once, using the freeze frame and slow motion buttons to be sure my remarks are accurate. The film ends this way:

Richard has indeed drugged Alison before she goes to sleep. He goes to the kitchen to wash carefully the glass he'd put the drug in. We also learn he's given the servants the night off. And we see Vernay come into the back yard and rear entrance of the house. Richard tells Vernay to go into the living room and stand in the same position he'd taken up some weeks earlier to frighten Alison.

Richard then goes to Alison's bedroom, finds her fast asleep and begins to speak to her, suggesting that she must go down the stairs and into the living room of their home and shoot Vernay. "He's come to kill you," says Richard. "He's waiting downstairs. . . . The gun. Take the gun, there on the table." And so on. Under the influence of the drug Richard gave her earlier, Alison obeys Richard's commands. (All of this drug bit is movie hokum you'll just have to accept to enjoy this film.)

When Richard and Alison stand outside the sliding doors of the living room's entrance, the shadow of Vernay looms up behind the glass of the doors. Alison is pointing the gun toward Vernay, her finger on the trigger. "Shoot before he kills you," directs Richard. She can't do it, so Richard pulls the trigger for her. The shot shatters the glass in the door and Vernay falls out of sight.

Richard immediately calls the police. "I want to report a murder," he shouts into the phone. But Vernay is not dead- - just wounded. And he emerges from the living room. "Hang up that phone," he directs, and Richard does so, starting to mumble lame excuses, realizing his double-cross of Vernay has not worked. Alison has been shocked back into reality by all of this. "Mrs. Courtland, I insist that you listen," Vernay shouts and reveals details of the plot Richard and he were working against her.

With that, VERNAY shoots and KILLS RICHARD. He turns to Alison and cries, "I just killed your husband, Mrs. Courtland, and now you're going to kill yourself."

At that moment, in comes Bruce Elcott, who throws a lamp at Vernay. This has the unfortunate effect of plunging the room into darkness. But Bruce gives chase to Vernay, who mounts the staircase to the top of the house. Lights go off and on; gunshots are exchanged as Bruce and Vernay go up the stairs. Vernay tries to escape through the skylight at the top of the stairs but falls several stories to the entrance hall to his death. I knew that those earlier shots up the magnificent staircase had to be put to some use, and Vernay's fall to death is a spectacular climax.

At this point, Bruce Elcott finds Alison and enfolds her in his arms, telling her, "Alison don't cry. In a little while, we'll be out of this house forever." The End.

Having been preceded by some other more-notable Gothic melodramas such as "Suspicion" (1941) and "Gaslight" (1944), this "woman-in-danger movie" is undeniably derivative but certainly not without merit. Its well-developed plot about an elaborate conspiracy starts off brightly and remains thoroughly absorbing right up to its well-staged conclusion. Adultery, insanity and betrayal are some of its main themes and with much of the action taking place in the heavily-shadowed interiors of an old mansion, the atmosphere is often rather creepy.

Wealthy New York socialite Alison Courtland (Claudette Colbert) wakes up on the night train to Boston with no memory of how she got there and after recovering from her hysterical state, arrangements are made for her to return to her home where her husband Richard (Don Ameche) has already reported her disappearance to the police. On the flight home, Alison travels with Bruce Elcott (Robert Cummings) who's a friend of one of her old school friends that she met at the airport. Bruce is strongly attracted to Alison and she enjoys his company and invites him to visit her mansion in Sutton Place.

Following Alison's latest disappearance and her penchant for sleepwalking, Richard arranges for her to see a psychiatrist called Dr Rhinehart and despite her initial reluctance, Alison agrees to co-operate when her husband convinces her that, before going on her train journey, she'd shot him in the arm whilst sleepwalking. The man who presents himself as Dr Rhinehart (Ralph Morgan) wears thick horn-rimmed glasses and has a threatening manner which leaves Alison feeling intimidated. Later, when it becomes clear that the man Alison had seen was an impostor, it seems possible to the other members of the household that she might have simply imagined the whole episode.

When Richard says that he's unable to go to a party that he and Alison had planned to go to, Bruce takes her instead to the wedding of his good friend and "honorary brother" Jimmy Lin (Keye Luke). On returning home, Alison freaks out when she sees the phony psychiatrist again but once more, she's the only person who sees him. Bruce doesn't believe that Alison's seeing things and later that night returns to her home where he sees her balancing precariously on a balcony and by shining a light in her face, prevents her from falling. This incident makes Bruce very suspicious and his subsequent investigations uncover the existence of a conspiracy involving Richard, the phony psychiatrist (who's actually a photographer called Charles Vernay) and a young woman called Daphne (Hazel Brooks).

Don Ameche is tremendously smooth and smarmy as the adulterous architect Richard who uses a variety of means (including drugs and hypnosis) to try to get his wife to either commit suicide or be certified insane so that he can inherit her fortune and marry his mistress (Daphne). Daphne's greed is exemplified when she says of Alison "I want what she's got. I want all of it. I want her house, her name, her man and I want them now, tonight". Claudette Colbert by contrast, makes Alison a very sincere victim who's understandably confused and alarmed by much of what takes place but also, interestingly, shows a more natural and easy-going side when she enjoys her time at the Chinatown wedding with Bruce.

Robert Cummings is light-hearted, lively and amusing as the charming Bruce and Ralph Morgan and Hazel Brooks both do well in their important supporting roles.

"Sleep, My Love" is beautifully photographed with some great expressionistic compositions, off-kilter camera angles and an extremely high staircase that all contribute strongly to the rather disconcerting atmosphere of this very enjoyable movie.

How to get rid of a wealth y wife in five easy lessons. When I first saw this film some thirty years ago, I didn't quite get it. I assume from having grown up and gotten a bug for film noir in the intervening years that I wasn't nature enough to grasp the intrigue of that genre. Now, having seen it once again since then (maybe about 15 years ago) that it is a smart thriller with all the stops pulled out in creating a diabolical drama of masterminded evil that grabs you and doesn't release you until the final seconds.

Claudette Colbert plays a Sutton Place socialite who finds herself on the train to Boston, unaware of how she got there. Her husband indicates shock over her disappearance to investigator Raymond Burr but is he sincere? The presence of a pesky but friendly old lady Queenie Smith adds to the intrigue as she is obviously a part of a scheme, while Ameche is soon revealed to be involved in an clandestine affair with the sinister Hazel Brooks, one of the most evil predatory women ever to grace the screen.

Robert Cummings is added into the plot, playing his usual happy go lucky good guy, befriending Colbert and escorting her around while Ameche plots with Brooks. Colbert, taking a break from the light-hearted comedies she was best known for (or long suffering mother roles), is sensational. Ameche is quite different than any role he had played up to this point. Produced by retired silent movie star Mary Pickford, this is dark and sinister, and above all, gripping and powerful.

I love film noir--so the fact that I really enjoyed "Sleep, My Love" is not especially surprising. What did surprise me, however, is that although the film has a familiar plot, it still was a good film. So, if you watch it and you are reminded of "Gaslight", "Experiment Perilous" and "Dial M For Murder", don't be at all surprised.

The film begins well and really grabs your attention. A woman (Claudette Colbert) awakens to find herself on a train bound for Boston. Considering her last memory was going to bed back in New York, this is pretty amazing. What's more amazing is that as the film progresses, Colbert continues to behave strangely. At first it looks like she might be losing her mind, but very soon you begin to suspect she's being set up by her philandering husband (Don Ameche). What happens next? Tune in and see.

"Sleep, My Love" has some very nice things going for it. Although she's only in the film here and there, Daphne (Hazel Brooks) is amazingly effective. She's cold and a great example of a film noir dame (also called a 'femme fatale'). In addition, the film really, really ended well. I'd say more--but it was violent and exciting--and the fact that the .22 was not an especially effective weapon is quite realistic. See this film--you'll be glad you did.

The best scenes in "Sleep, My Love" come right away -- awaking on a train, our heroine (Claudette Colbert) can't remember how or why she got there, although an old woman on the train swears she saw her get on in Baltimore. Later, it turns out the woman is a plant, part of a scheme dreamed up by the woman's husband (Don Ameche) and an unscrupulous passport photographer (Ralph Morgan).

Sadly, many of the film's moments that seem to be designed to be creepy or disturbing are unintentionally humorous. Ameche has a book about how to hypnotize people, and he uses it to try to lure Colbert into suicide. It's impossible not to laugh as he whispers next to her head while she sleeps, "go to the window, jump! jump!" Robert Cummings is equally ridiculous for most of the film's running time, although he does allow some interesting moments to creep in after he's discovered Ameche's plot and tries to trap him into revealing himself (he reveals a more forceful side than we usually see from Cummings).

I've never been a huge fan of Colbert in anything other than comedy, as she just doesn't seem to me to have the face or the style for drama. She's a fine actress, but I just didn't see what Cummings was so crazy about. She seems much too much of a square. Rita Johnson is more interesting to me, sorry..... wish we had seen more of her in films, but she definitely had some talent and was camera friendly.

Claudette Colbert wakes up on a train between NYC/Boston and hasn't the foggiest how she got there. She and devoted hubby Don Ameche manage to get her back to NYC on a plane with fellow passenger Robt Cummings. Claudette has all the moolah in the family, whilst hubby Don goes to the office. Since Claudette may be going bonkers, a psychiatrist appears and confirms she is definitely looney tunes. But, wait...something smells and after an evening of fun and cheer at a Chinese wedding with Cummings, we find that hubby Don is hitting sexy Lauren Bacall-Veronica Lake look-alike and they and the psychiatrist are plotting to dispose of Claudette because Don's hottsy wants Claudette's dough,her house and stuff and she wants her man too, and she wants it NOW so Don better bump her off and soon! Cat & mouse between Don and Cummings for a bit. Then Don makes his move to kill Claudette but things go awry and the psychiatrist (who is actually only a photographer) and Don get shot and Cummings saves Claudette and they fade to the end with the romantic Brooklyn Bridge in the background. This semi-Noir is OK, too bad Claudette always looked sort of matronly to me and Cummings with his shoe polish shellacked hair, the story gets a bit soapy and hammy at times, however a happy ending is always enjoyable.