Phantom Lady

A nightmare of gaudy hats, erotic drumming, vanilla ice cream loving detectives and the handsiest of handmen that's so into hands he has a sculpture of them in his creepy apartment. Fitting that German immigrants would vilify a guy who thinks his life is somehow worth more…

laird

A searing and insidious noir, finding and seizing every opportunity to break out of its studio confines. Even early on, Phantom Lady begins to distinguish itself from Siodmak's other "blue collar" noirs like The Killers and Criss Cross, positioning itself visually as…

John DeCarli

"You need someone to help you who really wants to! Someone who just won't be beaten." "Stop blowing bubbles, Kansas." Noirvember #19 Let's see what we have here: a Robert Siodmak-directed noir filmed in glorious B&W by one of the true masters of light and shadow (as…

theironcupcake

If ella raines texted me at 10:05 pm I would respond at 10:03 pm and also be at her door with flowers and tickets to the movies

eely

This is a nearly perfect mix of deeply serious and very silly, with a delightful supporting cast that includes Elisha Cook Jr. as a hep cat, leering drummer, Regis Toomey as Detective Chewing Gum (thanks, credits people), and the wonderful Thomas Gomez as Ella Raines' cop…

sakana1

Phantom Lady presents an intriguing murder mystery, which is boosted by a very dark tone and brooding atmosphere. The plot sees a man accused of murdering his wife, after presenting a seemingly unlikely alibi that proves he didn't do it. There's never any doubt of his…

Slig001

While Out of the Past may be the best pure example of film noir, the one in which all the noir elements are present in all their glory, no film looks more noir than Phantom Lady. There are dozens of shots created by Robert Siodmak and cinematographer Woody Bredell that…

noir1946

While the story doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny, the villain is forgettable after a gripping introduction and the reveal of the phantom lady mystery isn’t as intriguing as it could be, all that plays second fiddle to the outstanding cinematography. The portrayal of a…

JayShmoney

Know that Hawks quote about 3 good scenes and no bad ones? This has 5, notably the acid jazz and hands monologue.

Peter Labuza