Shock (1946 film)

Shock
Shock
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Alfred L. Werker
Screenplay by	Eugene Ling; Martin Berkeley;
Story by	Albert DeMond
Produced by	Aubrey Schenck
Starring	Vincent Price; Lynn Bari; Frank Latimore;
Cinematography	Joseph MacDonald; Glen MacWilliams;
Edited by	Harmon Jones
Music by	David Buttolph
Production; company	20th Century Fox
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	January 10, 1946 (United States);
Running time	70 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$350,000
Box office	$800,000

Shock is a 1946 American film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Vincent Price, Lynn Bari and Frank Latimore.^[3] It was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Plot

A young woman named Janet Stewart is anticipating the arrival of her husband and attempts to check into a hotel. They are meeting after years apart and have planned to meet at the hotel. During his military service he was presumed dead, but actually was a prisoner of war. Unfortunately, her cable requesting the reservation never arrived. The staff, after hearing her story, agree to provide a room for the night. Restless, she hears a loud argument and goes to the balcony window where she witnesses a man striking his wife with a candlestick. The woman is killed.

The next morning, her husband arrives and attempts to surprise Janet. Instead, he discovers her sitting on the couch, staring into space. She has gone into a state of shock as a result of seeing the murder. The hotel doctor is called, but he suggests she see a specialist.

The specialist that she sees turns out to be Dr. Cross, the man who murdered his wife.

Cast

Vincent Price as Dr. Richard Cross
Lynn Bari as Elaine Jordan
Frank Latimore as Lt. Paul Stewart
Anabel Shaw as Janet Stewart
Stephen Dunne as Dr. Stevens (as Michael Dunne)^[4]
Reed Hadley as O'Neill
Renee Carson as Mrs. Hatfield
Ruth Nelson As Mrs. Margaret Cross (Uncredited)^[4]
Charles Trowbridge as Dr. Franklin Harvey
Ruth Clifford as Mrs. Margaret Cross

Production

The film was originally to be directed by Henry Hathaway.^[1]

Reception

Above and beyond the typical characteristics of the horror film genre, reviewer Bosley Crowther of The New York Times took particular offense to the film's treatment of psychiatry. Coming in the wake of World War II, in which so many people had suffered shock and could benefit from treatment of their anxieties, Crowther asked the "critical observer to protest in no uncertain tones" the movie's "social disservice" in its fostering "apprehension against the treatment of nervous disorders", deploring the lack of consideration for those in need of treatment evidenced by producer Aubrey Schenck and distributor Twentieth Century-Fox.^[5] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times took no such offense, calling the film a "nominal 'B' feature", which screenplay author "Eugene Ling and Director Alfred Werker have imbued... with a grade-A suspense".^[6] Jonathan Malcolm Lampley wrote in Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price that his role in this film "foreshadows the mad doctors and scientists Price would frequently portray in his later career".^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Tom Weaver, It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradition McFarland, 2000 p 271
^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 221
^ Shock at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
^ ^a ^b "Hollywood Production ... Pictures Now Shooting". The Hollywood Reporter. October 26, 1945. p. 15. ProQuest 2320745572. Cast: Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Marjorie Henshaw, Frank Latimore, Michael Dunne, Ruth Nelson, Rene Carson, Roy Roberts, John Davidson.
^ Crowther, Bosley. "The Screen; Bad Medicine", The New York Times, March 9, 1946. Accessed July 2, 2009.
^ Scheuer, Philip K. "'Shock' Joins Procession of 'Psychos'", Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1946. Accessed July 2, 2009.
^ Lampley, Jonathan Malcolm (2010). Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price. McFarland & Company. p. 17. ISBN 9780786457496.
^ Shock (1946) [Film Noir] [Thriller]. Timeless Classic Movies. March 17, 2013. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via YouTube.
^ Shock (1946). Tinsel RoadTV. February 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via YouTube.
^ Shock 1946 Vincent Price, Film Noir, Thriller. old films. October 7, 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via YouTube.

External links

Shock at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Shock at IMDb
Shock at the TCM Movie Database
Shock is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

[tom-1] Tom Weaver, It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradition McFarland, 2000 p 271

[2] Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 221

[3] Shock at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.

[THR-4] "Hollywood Production ... Pictures Now Shooting". The Hollywood Reporter. October 26, 1945. p. 15. ProQuest 2320745572. Cast: Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Marjorie Henshaw, Frank Latimore, Michael Dunne, Ruth Nelson, Rene Carson, Roy Roberts, John Davidson.

[5] Crowther, Bosley. "The Screen; Bad Medicine", The New York Times, March 9, 1946. Accessed July 2, 2009.

[6] Scheuer, Philip K. "'Shock' Joins Procession of 'Psychos'", Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1946. Accessed July 2, 2009.

[7] Lampley, Jonathan Malcolm (2010). Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price. McFarland & Company. p. 17. ISBN 9780786457496.

[8] Shock (1946) [Film Noir] [Thriller]. Timeless Classic Movies. March 17, 2013. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via YouTube.

[9] Shock (1946). Tinsel RoadTV. February 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via YouTube.

[10] Shock 1946 Vincent Price, Film Noir, Thriller. old films. October 7, 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via YouTube.

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