Nightmare (1956)

An equally brilliant and hypnotic film noir with beautiful roles from both Edward G. Robinson and Kevin McCarthy. A jazz musician (McCarthy) dreams that he has killed a man. After he wakes up, it turns out that he is suddenly in possession of items from that dream. Of course he starts to doubt whether he dreamed all this, or whether he committed the murder after all. After having a picnic with his girlfriend, his brother-in-law (Robinson; who is also a police officer) and his wife, things suddenly seem familiar to him, and they end up in the house where everything happened. The truth slowly emerges in an exciting finale. One of the better (lesser known) film noirs, with a very good jazz soundtrack.

4*

Translated from Dutch · View original

This could have known better. The intention was probably a film noir with jazz and a lot of Hitchcock suspense in the style of Spellbound, but unfortunately too neat, too well-behaved, a somewhat boring main character and too much voice-over. Plot is a bit far-fetched, but nice in itself. Edward G. Robinson is almost always good and we always demonstrate it in rooms full of mirrors. Nice timewaster, but too little cinema and too little noir.

Translated from Dutch · View original