Portrait in Black

1960

Action / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller

3
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 50% · 5 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 50% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 2058 2.1K

based on play or musical disposing of a dead body neo-noir murder plot abusive husband adulterous wife

Plot summary

A pair of lovers plot to kill the woman's rich husband.

Director

Michael Gordon Photo
Michael Gordon

Top cast

Richard Basehart Photo
Richard Basehart as Howard Mason
Harold Goodwin Photo
Harold Goodwin as Patrolman
John Wengraf Photo
John Wengraf as Dr. Kessler
Paul Birch Photo
Paul Birch as Detective Lieutenant
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.01 GB
1280*640
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 52 min
Seeds ...
1.88 GB
1920*960
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 52 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ags123 7 / 10

Colorful Melodrama

Unlike Lana Turner's previous Ross Hunter extravaganza, "Imitation of Life," which had a serious side to it, "Portrait In Black" is pure fun. Once again she plays a glamour puss, decked out in Jean Louis gowns and David Webb jewels just to sit around the house. When she goes shopping at I. Magnin she positively drips in fur. The plot is a quasi-remake of Lana's Hollywood high point, "The Postman Always Rings Twice," in which she conspires with her lover to kill her much-older husband. Unfortunately, Anthony Quinn as her lover is completely miscast. Richard Basehart is much better as her slimy scorned suitor. Sandra Dee shows up again, this time as Lana's stepdaughter with whom she has an icy relationship. Once the murder takes place, Lana receives threatening notes and suspicion is cast on every character, including the maid and chauffeur. Hilarity ensues when, in a throwback to her scene in "The Bad and the Beautiful," she becomes hysterical while driving a car. Enjoy this film on many levels, as a mystery, a feast for the eyes, or an exercise in campy entertainment.
Reviewed by JLRMovieReviews 9 / 10

Classic Melodrama

Lana Turner, who's married to invalid Lloyd Nolan, has fallen for his doctor Anthony Quinn in one of Lana's most underrated films. This has to be one of the best examples of the melodrama genre, with Lana looking great as usual. I love it when movies know how to fill the cast with recognizable names, giving each role a chance to stand out: Anthony Quinn, Richard Basehart, Lloyd Nolan, Sandra Dee, John Saxon, Ray Walston, silent-screen star Anna May Wong, and Virginia Grey, who was an almost constant presence in Lana's later films. How you can go wrong? Granted, it may be campy or cheesy in some places, with loopholes to boot. But it wouldn't be melodrama without them. And, watching Anthony be driven out of his mind, is priceless. Only a great actor as him could overact so well. And, Sandra Dee comes off surprisingly well in her role, as the stepdaughter skeptic of her stepmother, who goes shopping, but comes back with no packages. If you're yearning for a good old-fashioned movie, the kind they just don't make anymore, this is for you. It's out on DVD, with Madame X. (That's another review.) Knock yourself out! Also, with Lana and John Saxon together in San Francisco, it feels like early Falcon Crest all over again. You gotta love it.
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