Spikeopath Among the Living is directed by Stuart Heisler and written by Garrett Fort and Lester Cole. It stars Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward, Harry Carey and Frances Farmer. Music is by Gerard Carbonara and cinematography by Theodor Sparkuhl.Dekker plays identical twins, John and Paul Raden. Paul was believed to have died when he was just 10 years old, in reality he had been traumatised and went insane and was locked up in a secret room at the Raden Mansion. When John returns for his father's funeral, he learns of Paul's existence, more so when Paul escapes and is out and about in Radentown...1941 saw the release of Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, High Sierra and I Wake Up Screaming. Films that mark an important point in the progression of what would become known as film noir, both thematically and as a visual style. Elsewhere there were some horror movies which would stand the test of time as classic productions, films such as The Wolf Man and The Black Cat are still massively popular today. Down in the lesser known file is Among the Living, a picture that blends both horror and noir for considerable rewards.It's a slice of Southern Gothic which nods appreciatively to classic horror conventions from the previous decade (eg: the Frankenstein connection is hard to ignore but handled skillfully), and it even has social commentary bursting forth from its seams, but it's with the photographic style where it becomes a must see for film noir enthusiasts.Heisler (latterly The Glass Key/Storm Warning) and Sparkuhl (also The Glass Key) shoot the picture by way of German Expressionism, where certain scenes and photographic compositions anticipate the noir style before it became the norm. From the feverish and frantic exuberance of a club scene, to a chase scene through menacing shadowed streets that end with murder, there are classy slices of noir before we even get to the crushing finale where Radentown is gripped by its own greed and insanity problems.Dekker is terrific, managing to give each twin their own identity without relying on costuming for the viewers to tell the difference. His man child portrayal of Paul is heartfelt and perfectly troubling, yet always tasteful. Hayward is socko gorgeous as a vampish nymph who latches onto Paul to feather her own nest, while Farmer provides the sort of solid support she was capable of before her own personal problems would derail her potential career.The psychological aspects of the pic are simplistic, of course, while viewing it now it's impossible to not get a sense of it being cliché heavy as regards the "twins" axis of plotting, but this is well paced, very well acted and beautifully photographed. If you can track down a decent print of it, then it's a must see for anyone interested in the influences and subsequent trajectory of film noir. 8/10

Robert J. Maxwell A more or less routine programmer enlivened by a sparky performance from a cute, young, flirtatious, materialistic, and cheerfully candid Susan Hayward.Albert Dekker plays twins, the sons of a wealthy mill owner in a Southern town. The story has their identities getting mixed up, madness, a murder, the wrong twin blamed, and so forth. Such mix ups aren't rare in the theater or movies. Except for the fact that it's a dramatic thriller, it might have inspired by Shakespeare's first play, "The Comedy of Errors", or from Plautus, from whom Old Bill ripped it off in the first place. But in fact the origins of the idea of mixed identities and twins is probably lost in the mists of the Mousterian Age.Where was I? Oh, yes. Okay. So we have this double Dekker, a Zweidekker, if you like. John Raden -- that's the SANE Dekker -- has been sent off to school at about the same time the other Dekker, Paul, has begun to show signs of what passes for insanity in this B feature. His eyes are open wide and he wears an idiotic smile. He speaks in a high voice and is ingenuous in the way an innocent child is. He's without art or guile. Except when he hears women scream. Then he turns into a raving maniac and has an unfortunate tendency to strangle people during a vesuvian outburst.He strangles his old African-American guardian, Pompeii, who has been taking care of him in the old, wrecked family mansion. That's the mad Dekker I'm referring to. He's been kept secretly in a locked room upstairs, sometimes wearing a straight jacket. The friendly old town doctor, Harry Carey, signed a false death certificate for Paul in an attempt to save the wealthy family any embarrassment. So the whole town mistakenly thinks Paul is dead, just as the world of pop music would think in 1968.John returns to the town, intending to re-open the mill, which had closed during the depression. Frances Farmer, who looks striking, has practically nothing to do as his wife. Sane John and beautiful Frances put up in a hotel rather than return to the dilapidated mansion which folks now believe to be haunted. We don't see much of them for the remainder of the film.The story follows the goggle-eyed Paul. After strangling Pompeii and stealing a horde of cash, he wanders the streets of the town, which is all new to him because he's been locked up for two decades. And it's certain he's never been allowed to look at anyone as sexy and forthcoming as Susan Hayward, the daughter of the boarding house keeper where Paul rents a room. Her character is chipper and she brings some life into what is otherwise a rather somber and not very interesting narrative. I might observe that it's a little odd to hear these Southerners -- Hayward, Dekker, and Harry Carey -- in conversations. Two are from Brooklyn and one from the Bronx.I don't think I'll gave away the end, though I guess we can mention that it involves a frenzied pursuit of the innocent Dekker by a lynch mob. There are multiple implausibilities towards the end and one big hole. John can't prove that he's not Paul. Nobody believes him, since they think Paul is dead, right? But Frances Farmer, John's wife, is right there, looking fretful but standing silently among the mob members. She could save his bacon with a few words, but then we wouldn't have the villagers with their torches and pitchforks shouting and hooting as they chase the innocent Dekker through the studio woods.

kidboots Stuart Heisler had been a film editor for over 24 years with one directorial credit before Paramount let him direct a low budget entry "The Biscuit Eater" (1940) - it became the sleeper of the year with the National Board of Review naming it among it's top ten movies. Although he was later thrust into directing "A" movies, none of them found the critical praise that came his way with the release of the masterful psychological thriller "Among the Living". Susan Hayward, poised on the brink of stardom had had mainly nondescript roles, only her part as malevolent Hester in "Adam Had Four Sons" gave any indication of her explosive talent. Now, given the role of the sluttish Milly Pickens, Susan was given something she could really get her teeth into.After the death of his father, Maxim Raden, hated owner of the lately closed Radentown Mills, John (Albert Dekker) is told that his twin brother, whom he thought dead, is still alive. Paul is a hopeless lunatic kept straight jacketed in a secret room at Radenhouse. Many years before, in trying to defend his mother against his father's brutality, he was dashed against a wall and his only lasting memory is that of his mother's scream. When John and Saunders (Harry Carey), who has kept the secret for 25 years in exchange for a share of Maxim's estate, go to Radenhouse they find Paul has escaped after killing Pompey, his keeper. He wanted to see for himself that his father was not buried near his mother and what he finds sends him on a murderous rampage.He finds himself at a rooming house where his gentlemanly ways find favour with Ma Pickins (Maude Eburne) and her sluttish daughter Millie (Hayward). His clothes may be shabby but he is "refined"!!! "If I had a wad of folding dough like that I'd go right out and buy an outfit that would knock this neighbourhood cockeyed"!!! So says Millie when she sees Paul's cash!! but before he take Millie dancing he makes the acquaintance of a "B" girl (Jean Phillips, who bears a strong resemblance to Ginger Rogers). In a surreal sequence he wanders into the swinging "Riverbottom Cafe" where the laughter, music and jitterbugging all combine to send Paul into a frenzy. When the blonde floozy not only rejects him but laughs in his face (after he says he wishes Millie was there instead of her) - it leads to a terrifying chase, she running faster and faster, Paul gaining on her until, down a darkened alley all you hear is a piercing scream.Next day, when out with Millie, who is discreetly taking him for all she can get, news comes over the radio that John Raden is offering $5,000 reward for capture of the murderer. "Yahoo, $5,000!!! I could get a fur coat for that - all for little Millie"!! The town is whipped into a frenzy of mob rule and Millie convinces Paul to go with her to Radenhouse, she is convinced the murderer will be hiding out there and no one will suspect!! But they do and the mob go there too and Millie, excited to a fever pitch, misidentifies the innocent John, turning against Paul as easily as she had turned on to him!!!Albert Dekker really rose to the challenge of playing twins. His Paul was a mastery of understatement and he avoided the leers, ogles and grimaces that actors usually bought out when portraying madness. You felt only pity for him and what he had gone through and also for the fact that the doctor, his so-called friend, had only kept the secret for his own selfish reasons. Frances Farmer, initially one of the most beautiful of starlets, had gone through some severe emotional and alcohol problems. By the time of "Among the Living" she could barely function and later said her mental state was such that she hardly knew what she was doing. Fortunately she didn't need to do much, her portrayal of John's wife only required that she look frightened and scream at different times. Also seen in the cafe and "kangeroo court" scene was Dorothy Sebastian, bewitching beauty of the silents.

dougdoepke Deranged twin brother escapes home confinement after father's death and tries to fit into a new life.Wacky, highly original horror story. When the luscious Hayward (Millie) makes her entrance at the stairs' top, it's like an explosion of saucy sex appeal. There's enough lively personality there to light up the room. In fact, her gold-digging coquette manages to steal the film. And that's against tough competition from Dekker as the wide-eyed, strangely sympathetic mad strangler. Together, they're easily one of filmdom's genuine odd couples.Frankly, the story at times makes little sense. But that's okay because it's the characters and Gothic atmosphere that distinguish the film. It's also one of the few films where the camera pans through a hellish mansion, only to focus finally on a guy in a straitjacket (Dekker as the mad Paul), of all things.Catch that opening scene with the unemployed mill workers taunting the funeral rites for the mill owner. In fact, there's an odd class undercurrent to the screenplay as a whole. Considering that blacklisted leftist Lester Cole did both the story and the script, that's not surprising. Moreover, the screenplay can be viewed as something of an allegory with mad brother Paul as the brutalized innocent, who would like to side with the workers (he prefers living with them), but has been too damaged by his mill owner father to be able to. In that sense, he suggests Dad's repressed (straitjacketed) humane side hidden away from public view, but finally released by Dad's death into a world his now childlike nature can't comprehend. More tragically, he can only relieve a woman's scream of pain by strangling her, the memory of his abused mother and his attempt to help still fresh in his mind. Dekker's affecting performance with its unexpected degree of pathos underscores, I believe, something of this way of looking at things.Director Heisler certainly has a flair for exciting crowd scenes. That clip joint with its frenetic swing dancers is a marvel of editing and atmosphere, a really memorable scene. And those teeming street crowds add both color and more atmosphere. The movie's commanding visuals owe a lot to the underrated Heisler. Too bad, however, the talented Frances Farmer is largely wasted in a brief, conventional role.Anyway, in my little book, the movie's a one-of-a-kind that rises above the ordinary B- feature or horror film, and should not be missed.