Kind Lady (1951)

With Barrymore seemingly so sure of herself it just isn't convincing that she crumbles so quickly under the genteel home invaders. The set up is quite good but once they supposedly have her under their control there are too many ways she could escape, and yet never does, that it loses reality. There are also too many characters who have to vanish, like the young daughter and even a baby, in order for the plot to work.Evans is good but the stand out is Wynn--very convincing as a heavy and as a Brit. Good score, and carefully placed as well--though the otherwise good print shown on TCM has a distracting warble to the soundtrack that distorts the music.Sturges direction is slick, but he's no Hitchcock. One off camera death is nicely done and the film keeps moving despite limited locations it doesn't feel dull, nor does it bristle with excitement.But the unbalanced script can't convince us the jeopardy is real despite good acting all around. Perhaps the original play worked better.

Ethyl Barrymore plays a collector of antique furniture and paintings, with a distinguishing eye for art but she's somewhat of a failure as a judge of character. The movie leaves that up to the viewer who knows right off that the character played by Maurice Evans, a second-rate artist who ingratiates himself to Barrymore, is up to no good. It's not easy to believe that Barrymore's character could be so easily taken in by Evans, but once she is under his control, watching her paintings and furniture as they are methodically removed from the house to be sold, is impressively well-done. In that light, it's almost too bad his caper veers into violence, but it's necessary to reveal the truly evil side of the character Evans portrayed. With Keenan Wynn and Angela Lansbury as a married couple equally bad who assist in the kidnapping of Barrymore (even though she never leaves her own house), the violence and the threat of it that make it imperative that Barrymore be rescued because she symbolizes upper-class kindness and virtue towards unfortunate losers, lead into a well-done escalation of danger as Evans's character reveals one of the more evil screen characters ever.

I think this is one of the creepiest thrillers you will find from the 1940s-1950s. And why? Because it shows how fragile every day life can be when just one little occurrence can bring one's life tumbling down! While it is an excellent story, it's the cast that makes it shine. There was always something special about Ethel Barrymore in a film, and here she really shines! I won't say it's her best film role (that may be "Pinky"), but this is so very good. I was never very impressed with Maurice Evans; he probably thought more of himself than others thought of him, in terms of acting. But he does very nicely here as the villain...not overplaying it, which some actors might have done. This is not a very impressive role for Angela Lansbury, but she's good in it as another of the thieves. Likewise, Keenan Wynn does nicely as another thief, not overplaying the role at all, but just being slightly menacing. John Williams to the rescue! A venerable character actor who never disappoints. Doris Lloyd is pleasant as the servant.This is a neat thriller, a bit chilling in an old-fashioned way, and worth the mere 77 minutes of screen time! It's a gem.

A kindly old dowager takes a penniless artist into her lavish household, only to find out he's got his own plans.For a filmed stage play, the movie surprisingly never drags. That's a tribute to a tight screenplay and excellent staging. For example, catch how director Sturges in the first confrontation scene positions the four intruders in the foreground so they appear now to loom over the exasperated old lady (Barrymore), symbolizing their gradual reversal of authority. Then too, Sturges has basically only a single set to dramatize with, a real staging challenge.However, the movie really belongs to the mild-looking Evans (Elcott) who manages an effortless study in civilized evil. His manipulations are so understated that his malignant nature sort of creeps up on you. It's one of the slyer incarnations in the history of bad guys. And get a load of the Edwards family, with the shrill Lansbury, the hulking Wynn, and the bratty Aggie. They're household help from heck, and we know Barrymore's in big trouble when this British version of The Beverly Hillbillies walk in the door. Anyway, the tension stays on high as we feel trapped along with the kind lady. All in all, the movie's a minor gem of claustrophobic suspense.