Gefährliche Begegnung (1944)

Gefährliche Begegnung: Directed by Fritz Lang. With Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey, Edmund Breon. A conservative middle aged professor engages in a relationship with a femme fatale, he’s plunged into a nightmarish world of blackmail and murder.

“Woman in the Window (1944)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA methodical movie about a methodical cover-up. Edgar G. Robinson is the perfect actor for a steady, rational man having to face the crisis of a murder, and Fritz Lang, who has directed murderousness before, knows also about darkness and fear. There are no flaws in the reasoning, and if there is a flaw to the movie, it is itu0026#39;s very methodical perfection. Even the flaws are perfect, the mistakes made and how they are shown.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe all at one time or another get away with something, large or small. And this law-abiding man finds himself trapped. He has to succeed, and you think he might. Part of me kept saying, I wouldnu0026#39;t do that, or donu0026#39;t be a fool. But part of me said, itu0026#39;s inevitable, heu0026#39;ll fail, we all would fail. So the movie moves with a steady thoughtful pace. It talks a lot for an American crime film, but it also has the best of night scenes–rainy streets with gleaming dark streets, hallways with glass windows and harsh light, and dark woods (for the body, of course). But there are dull moments, some odd qualities like streets with no parked cars at all, and a leading woman who is a restrained femme fatale, which isnu0026#39;t the best. And then there are twists and suspicions, dodges and subterfuges. And of course Dan Duryea, who makes a great small-time chiseler.”