Signpost to Murder (1964)

Signpost to Murder (1964) shows how far a story can go and give other minds and viewers a range of perspective of what an accused can be and what an accusation lead to. Starting with the suit-the- bill performance of the Joanne Woodward as Molly Thomas, Stuart Whitman as Alex Forrester & Edward Mulhare as Dr. Mark Fleming, I each has done their needed so nothing there. Now coming to the plot and the execution, I believe such a story needs more maze runs than simple yet obscure endings to be intriguing and adrenaline because of the genre it falls under. The story of the film comes from the play by Monte Doyle of same name, which tells the tale of (Stuart) A man on a run from law after escaping a criminal asylum finds refuge, love, connection and betrayal in the house of a woman (Molly) who has her own ulterior plans to execute.And, how a night of run and chase and lies and personas come out revealing.At last, this is a brief review, i had the chance of watching this film and as usual, being a suspense and murder mystery kind of cult thriller, let it keep it this way.Also, later, this film and the source play, got another adaptation in the forms of-1) A Gujarati play titled Dhummas2) Ittefaq(coincidence) (1969) directed by Yash Chopra starring Rajesh Khanna3) Ittefaq(coincidence) (2017) directed by Abhay Chopra starring Akshaye Khanna & Sidharth MalhotraIf you want to watch this film, then you can check YT and links below,https://youtu.be/I0Yyda3Dg1Q

Shown August 2011 on TCM's "Joanne Woodward day", this production by Marten Pictures stars Joanne Woodward as "Molly" and Stewart Whitman as "Alex". Woodward had done mostly TV during the 1950s, then started in films. Whitman had been quite the boxer in the service, and had also done a lot of TV in the 1950s, then on to films in the late 1950s/1960s, now getting credited for his roles. "Signpost" is a combination of prison escape, a who-dunnit, and even a bit of a 1970's psychological "thinker film". Pretty well done, its not at all a "murder noir" - its much too bright, blunt, and in- your-face to be a noir. When the escaped prisoner hides out in someone's house, the police keep popping in, sure that the escaped prisoner is still around. There are some surprises, and all the excitement is in the last 20 minutes. Also keep an eye out for Alan Napier (ALFRED, from the Batman TV Show!) Based on a play written by Monte Doyle, this was only the second film directed by George Englund. He seems to have done most of his work as a producer, and worked on the very successful Golden Girls TV show in the 1990s. Not a bad movie, but nothing real special.

I saw a Law And Order episode that had a similar theme to Signpost For Murder in which a psychiatrist played by Robert Foxworth was able to manipulate his patient in the way Edward Mulhare was doing with Stuart Whitman in this film. The Law And Order episode was infinitely superior.I think Paul Newman was shooting Lady L in Europe at the time and Joanne Woodward got this film to do probably to keep herself busy. She plays the owner of a house where escaping mental patient Stuart Whitman takes refuge. Later on her husband turns up very dead, first for Whitman privately and then very publicly. And who's going to believe Whitman who is in the insane asylum for strangling his wife.Mulhare, Whitman, and Woodward have all seen better films than this one. Definitely subpar for all of them although being the professionals they are they give the film there all. It just ain't enough.

I also give this b/w thriller high marks. The story is good and as mentioned in another comment, the set is terrific and the atmosphere of suspense and intrigue sustains your interest. You begin to suspect that something's not quite right, but you're still surprised when it is revealed. One of my favorite actors, whom I had the pleasure of knowing briefly, was Edward Mulhare, and this is one of the few chances he was given in this country to show his appeal. Whitman reaffirms that he was a very underrated actor, despite his Oscar Nomination for "The Mark", having ultimately been relegated to B-Westerns and some unexceptional, though frequent, TV guest appearances. All in all, a very well-spent 74 minutes or so.