Rent Obsession (1949)

London Noir. - Obsession review by Steve

Edward Dmytryk was a pioneer of American film noir, and after becoming one of the first casualties of McCarthyism, he moved to England and directed Obsession, among the most authentic looking British noirs. And it's a terrifically suspenseful thriller.

Its preoccupation is the perfect murder. An egotistical psychiatrist (Robert Newton) is intent on killing his wife's lover (Phil Brown) and locks him in a hidden room. But the garrulous shrink plans to keep his rival chained up during the investigation into the disappearance, and murder him when the heat is off.

 Which will give the captor time to fill a bath with acid, while he toys expansively with his victim. Regrettably, Newton gives a typically bumptious and tiresome performance. Sally Gray though, is a most effective floozy; a victim of her husband's psychopathic jealousy but without being sympathetic either.  

Naunton Wayne gives the film a big lift in the second half as a proto-Colombo who turns up unexpectedly, asking awkward questions. It's such well directed and exciting thriller that it's possible to overlook Newton's histrionics. And his really strange accent. This is one of Dmytryk's best films.