MartinHafer When this film begins, Valerie Stanton (Rosalind Russell) is in the office of Gordon Dunning (Leon Ames). Dunning is insisting that he MUST have her or he will destroy her. Dunning is VERY intense and vaguely threatening. Stanton is obviously afraid of him and ends up accidentally killing him in self-defense. However, she does NOT tell the police but tries to see if she can get away with it. Since there is no doubt that Valerie did it, you might wonder how they fill the rest of the movie. After all, the killing happens in just the first few minutes of the film. Well, part of the film consists of Valerie having a flashback where she thinks about all the things that led up to the killing. The rest consists of the police investigation headed by the Captain (Sidney Greenstreet). However, where it all goes is not what I would have expected--and I appreciate that. In particular, since Valerie was doing the play "Hedda Gabler", I assumed the film would end the same as the play.The film has a very nice script, as it explores human nature and has plenty of twists and turns. Additionally, the acting and direction are quite intelligently done--making it a nice movie for adult tastes. Of the actors, by the way, my favorite was Greenstreet, as he plays against type and his performance is smooth and believable. Overall, a very nice film.

dougdoepke Without a doubt, it's a Rosalind Russell showcase. She's in about every scene, and in a role as a Broadway actress she gets to model 1948's leading fashions, especially hats. However, it's not the Russell type of madcap comedy she was so good at. Frankly, as actress Valerie she smiles very little, bearing the burden of killing her Broadway producer (Ames) in an act of rage following his abusive machinations. She sort of wants to get away with it and continue her big career, but then there's her nagging conscience. Besides her arch-rival (Trevor) is getting the blame, so Valerie is really conflicted, a perfect role for a distinguished Hollywood actress wanting to show her thespian chops.Then there's the added attraction of the great Greenstreet, as the lumbering head detective. Just what is his game as he investigates the killing. Is he being straightforward with Valerie or just trying to trap her. It's hard to tell. But then, being sly was the actor's stock in trade regardless the role. However, pity poor Leo Genn who mostly gets to stand around as Valerie's patient suitor. And I really like Theresa Harris as the winsome maid, Nancy, while Claire Trevor really shines in one of her patented tough gal roles. The catty barbs between her and Valerie are deliciously done. The movie, as a whole, may be pretty talky, but it's snappy dialogue, so the talk comes across as cleverly entertaining. Anyway, there's no mystery to the story; we know whodunit from the outset. Instead, it's a character study with the estimable Russell, front and center, showing off her talents in a different direction from the usual sophisticated comedy. So fans should be prepared, but no less impressed.

Leofwine_draca At first, THE VELVET TOUCH seems like it will be a traditional noirish murder mystery, with a sinister slaying at a theatre followed by a detective investigation into the various suspects. But no, we learn the identity of the murder at the beginning and the film instead becomes a character drama as we learn what the effects of guilt and suspicion have on a person.Unfortunately I found this film to be entirely routine and, it has to be said, dated. The acting is over the top, with exaggerated mannerisms from the likes of Rosalind Russell, although Claire Trevor (LADY OF DECEIT) is better in support. After the opening murder not much really happens and the script just isn't engaging or the characters authentic enough to care about. I'm slowly becoming a fan of films from this era but THE VELVET TOUCH is the one that's left me cold so far.

silverscreen888 Seldom is it possible to find three unusual elements in the same film; these three I claim are a brilliant part for a female lead, an absorbing and tense duel between heroine and pursuer, and an ethically satisfying excuse for murder. I claim that "The Velvet Touch" presents all three elements quite successfully. It is a very well-directed film, set in theaters, interior rooms and apartments; and I suggest it has one of the simplest story lines of any first-rate film. An actress has been groomed by her mentor-agent-Svengali and has become Broadway's leading comedic star. He wants her to do a new comedy, after her most recent triumph; she wants to do a dramatic play. They quarrel; he threatens to run her reputation, her career, her life, and in a moment of fear an loathing she kills him with a blunt instrument. The remainder of the film consists of the actress's preparation for an achievement of the dramatic triumph she had thought but not been certain she could earn to, even while she is being pursued by a portly and wise police inspector who after her opening night success, which he allows her to complete, escorts her to what the viewer knows will be a trial for murder of some sort. Of course there is a new fiancée, and a woman falsely accused connected with the deceased, but essentially that is the entire storyline. What this narrative does not convey however is the skill with which Sydney Greenstreet plays the deferential but brilliant detective; nor does it hint at the possibilities of the main part, played in this film by Rosalind Russell who brings out many of those potentials. Powerful Leo Genn plays the fiancée, Claire Trevor the other woman suspected of murder and Leon Ames the despicable murder victim. Others in the cast include Frank McHugh, Walter Kingsford, Dan Tobin, Nydia Westman, Bill Erwin and Martha Hyer, among others. The director of the film, Jack Gage, handled the entire project very well; his blocking and photographing of interior scenes makes the action flowq dramatically, and never seemed "staged". Then there are other technical contributions and subordinate creations: Travis Banton's gowns; cinematography by Joseph Walker, set decorations by Darrell Silvera and Maurice Yates and music by Leigh Harline. Miss Russell produced this film for herself with her husband, and she comes close to making it work perfectly in my view. The part, in my judgment as a writer, cannot be "played"; it requires charisma, highly-trained Shakespearean ability in comedy and the equal ability to perform drama; perhaps one actor in a hundred could even approach such a combination. The mood of the piece is somber, the lighting subdued, the B/W photography dense and well-lighted at the same time. This is a very interesting and moving work throughout; we know Valerie did not mean to kill the tyrannical business partner who wanted do dominate her; but her desire to prove that she had been right about playing this dramatic part she had chosen becomes the viewer's importance as well. She is willing to confess to save an innocent accusee; but the play's the thing in "The Velvet Touch". And that she succeeds vindicates her judgment doubly--that the man trying to ruin her life had been wrong and that his brutal manners and lack of ethics were not desperation to save her at all but something far more sinister. A stirring ending caps off a memorable motion picture as Valeris and the Captain of detectives walk from the theater like royalty, not like those involved in a murder.