Mikel3 'The House on Telegraph Hill' (1951) Starring Valentina Cortese and Richard Basehart. Contains minor spoilers.Last night we were looking for an older film to watch that we had never seen before. We found this movie. It was a strange offbeat mix of friendship, love, infidelity, greed, stolen identity and murder. Richard Basehart shows here just what a fine actor he was. Sadly, I feel he is mostly associated with his role on TVs 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' and not his earlier films that showed his versatility. He was convincing here as a seemingly loving new husband who might just be hiding a murderous side. In some ways much like Gary Grant's character in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Suspicion' (1941). I wonder if that earlier film influenced the character for this one? 'The House on Telegraph Hill' was directed by the usually very talented Robert Wise.I did like this film and it's worth seeing, however, I couldn't help thinking how much better it may have been if directed by the master of suspense 'Alfred Hitchcock'. It's hard to explain, some scenes just didn't ring as real to me as they might have in a Hitchcock film. Also, the occasional surprises should have had much more impact than they did. I really don't understand that, I expected more from Robert Wise. This was a good film that should have been a great film. The acting talent was all there, something else was missing.It's interesting to note that the two leads Valentina Cortese and Richard Basehart met making this movie and were soon married. This may have added to the chemistry they had on screen together early on as two lovers. Their marriage lasted 9 years and they had one child together.I do recommend this movie to people who enjoy crime dramas with some surprises. The story does have a very satisfying ending to it. Also, the resolution of the stolen identity story rather surprised me. I can't explain without giving too much away. I'll only say it seemed justified. I rate this a 6 out of 10.

grizzledgeezer Though based on a novel, "The House on Telegraph Hill" looks like a mash-up of two famous Hitchcock flicks, with orange juice replacing milk. It's unlikely this was intentional, but it doesn't change the fact that "House" is annoyingly similar and much inferior to either of The Master's films.Robert Wise again demonstrates why he's such a profoundly mediocre director. The quality of his films seems to depend solely on the quality of the material he's working with. That's good -- he doesn't ruin good stuff -- but it's bad because he does little to enhance average (or worse) material. If there were ever a non-auteur director, Wise was it. (He even admitted to having no particular style.)"House" needs the director's help. The script does little to create suspense. Who is "good" and who is "bad"? Is Viktoria imagining things, or is she really in danger? The tale's final unraveling is so drawn-out and overwrought that it's hard not to laugh. As with Wise's "The Haunting", "House" is a suspense film remarkably lacking palpable tension.It's hard to believe Wise wasn't aware he was in Hitchcock territory, and he'd better be on his toes. But the result is little more than a soporific run-through of the script. Basehart's final revelation of his motives is drab, and seems to come out of left field (even though it's prefigured).The only good thing is Valentina Cortese's sympathetic and thoroughly convincing performance. If only everything else had been that good...

Spikeopath The House on Telegraph Hill is directed by Robert Wise and adapted for the screen by Elick Moll & Frank Partos from the novel The Frightened Child written by Dana Lyon. It stars Richard Baseheart, Valentina Cortese, William Lundigan & Fay Baker. Filmed on location primarily in the Telegraph Hill area of San Francisco, the film features photography by Lucien Ballard and a musical score directed by Alfred Newman.Victoria Kowelska (Cortese) survives Belsen, but with her family killed by the Nazis she is all alone in the world with no identity. With her Belsen friend Karin Dernakova (Natasha Lytess) not surviving till liberation, Victoria decides to take on Karin's identity to get to America. Under the guise of being Karin, Victoria winds up in San Francisco, living in a prime mansion, married to Dernakova trustee Alan Spender (Baseheart), mother to young Chris (Gordon Gebert) and heiress to the family fortune. But the House on Telegraph Hill is home to many secrets and unanswered questions: Can Alan be trusted? Why is Margaret (Baker) the housekeeper cold towards her? What really brought about the death of the recently deceased aunt? And can she even trust her only real friend, Major Marc Bennett (Lundigan)?Director Robert Wise was one of the most versatile men to have ever worked in cinema . He pretty much covered all genres in his long and distinguished career, here for The House on Telegraph Hill, he blends Gothic melodrama with film noir leanings. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Wheeler, DeCuir, Little & Fox), the film is certainly a lavish enough production, and for sure the story is well elaborated, but the picture as a whole is not all that it can be. For although it's rich with an eerie ambiance that's occasionally punctured by the promise of some sinister intervention, it never delivers on its promises. The suggestions and heightened tensions grab the attention, but the screenplay doesn't allow the woman in danger scenario room to grow. None of which is helped by the fact that the film opens with Victoria narrating her flashback in past-tense voice over! It's hardly a smart move by the makers that, is it? Perhaps it's wrong to judge it as being part of the group that contains, Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Gaslight (1940/1944) and The Spiral Staircase (1946)? But fact remains it's a long way from being half as good as any of those films.However, there is still enough in Wise's film to keep it above average and make it a safe recommendation to fans of the "woman-in-mansion-in-peril" sub-genre. The story is well played by the principal actors. Baseheart has to play his cards close to his chest in the tricky role that requires him to keep us guessing as to if he is good or bad. That he offers no clues is testament to the good performance Baseheart gives. Italian actress Cortese binds the film together with a layered performance that contains excellent visual acting, where nervous smiles and saddened eyes tell of guilt and longing that the screenplay has sadly not let the character expand upon. Baker is a touch underwritten, but does a neat line in icy cold veneer, while Lundigan offers up a nice counterpoint as the other man in Victoria's life. Having Lucien Ballard on cinematography is a good move. Be it capturing the expansive colour vistas for Budd Boetticher & Sam Peckinpah in Westerns, or shooting in atmospherically stark black & white for the likes of John Brahm & Jacques Tourneur, Ballard showed himself to be a master photographer. Here in the brooding Dernakova mansion he deals in shadows and low lights to great tonal effect. Alfred Newman's (a record 9 time Academy Award winner) score, aided by Sol Kaplan, is very dramatic and flows freely around the house and is at one with Victoria's various emotional states.The House on Telegraph Hill contains menacing undertones that are boosted by camera, music and acting. If only the writing was in tune with those things then we would be talking about a classic of its type. 6.5/10

JasparLamarCrabb If Daphne Du Maurier had set REBECCA in 1950s San Francisco, it might very well resemble this uptight, highly unusual noir from Robert Wise. Valentina Cortese plays a concentration camp survivor who steals the identity of a dead woman and insinuates herself into the life of Richard Basehart (who happens also to be the guardian of the dead woman's son)...it's absurd and over-the-top but also topflight entertainment. Cortese is terrific, slowly falling apart as she realizes the mistake she's made. Basehart is fine if a bit bland...although the lighting toward the end makes him appear very menacing. Fay Baker makes a very good Mrs. Danvers-like caretaker. Wise is a fine director and he keeps things moving at a pretty brisk clip. He also stages a now classic out of control car crash with Cortese (or at least a stunt Cortese) at the wheel.