Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron star in "The Man with a Cloak," a 1951 thriller set in 1848 New York. A young woman (Caron) comes to New York to get money for her boyfriend's political cause from his grandfather (Calhern). Grandpa is in the clutches of his ex-girlfriend turned housekeeper (Stanwyck) and a surly butler (Joe De Santis) who are waiting for the old man to die so they can get his money. The Caron character thinks they are trying to kill him, so she appeals to an apparent ne'er do well who hangs at the local bar, Dupin (Cotten) for help.
This is a slow-moving story for sure, but Cotten has some great dialogue nonetheless. Stanwyck looks beautiful and is very good as the duplicitous woman. Alas, these are film careers on the wane, as evidenced by the smallness of the film. Caron is quite young and appealing, and of course, her star would go up and up. The ending has a twist that is quite fun. I have no idea if it's historically preposterous or not, but this movie needed a kick and it was a good one. Certainly worth seeing for its stars.
This is a slow-moving story for sure, but Cotten has some great dialogue nonetheless. Stanwyck looks beautiful and is very good as the duplicitous woman. Alas, these are film careers on the wane, as evidenced by the smallness of the film. Caron is quite young and appealing, and of course, her star would go up and up. The ending has a twist that is quite fun. I have no idea if it's historically preposterous or not, but this movie needed a kick and it was a good one. Certainly worth seeing for its stars.