edwagreen
They say that insanity runs in the family, but this is ridiculous. A young guy marries a woman to thwart the attempts of his uncle to control money that was left to him.The uncle is played by a totally sinister looking Errol Flynn. The film takes place in a mansion where the family lives. Geraldine Brooks is a scene stealer as the niece of Flynn who seems care free but is stifled in her attempts to lead her own life by her repressive uncle.The atmosphere is eerie. Even the head maid could be an exact duplicate of Judith Anderson's Mrs. Danvers in 1940's "Rebecca."What was Flynn discussing with the other man? It appeared they were up to no good. How could the Flynn character turn into a good guy protecting his niece and nephew from their supposed inevitable insanity? After all, their father died in an institution for the insane.Richard Basehart literally returns from the dead, as the nephew, near the end of this misery and indeed shows that insanity runs in the family.Jerome Cowan briefly appears at the film's beginning as the brother of Flynn; he is a U.S. senator caught up in politics and goes back to Washington and is not seen again.After Basehart is exposed, Stanwyck, the nephew's widow, walks off hand in hand with her uncle by marriage, Errol Flynn. She weds her uncle by marriage? The whole concept was ludicrous.
alexanderdavies-99382
"Cry Wolf" came along when Errol Flynn's career was in slight decline. He hadn't had a successful film at the box office for the last few years but the above film is interesting and reasonably intriguing. His character in "Cry Wolf" displays almost nothing of the usual character traits. He is rather austere and emotionally detached. Flynn could quite easily have been cast as a villain. The film is a lot more low key in comparison with other Errol Flynn films. The story mainly revolves around a big house with many acres of land out in the sticks. There aren't the usual lavish production values. The plot doesn't allow for any of the usual camaraderie or any shenanigans that the fans had come to expect from Flynn. The tone of the film is a lot more serious, perhaps a bit grim but still very watchable. As the female lead, Barbara Stanwyck plays a character who attends the reading of a will after learning that her husband has died. Her husband was the nephew of Errol Flynn, who is quick to question if Stanwyck is the genuine article after the family has never heard of her. Whilst her background is being investigated, Stanwyck stays at the family estate where not all is what it seems..... There is a bit of mystery about "Cry Wolf" until about the last 15 minutes when all is explained. The two leads engage upon a series of verbal assaults upon each other and with both giving their all. Worth watching.
Spikeopath
Cry Wolf is directed by Peter Godfrey and adapted to screenplay by Catherine Turney from the novel of the same name written by Marjorie Carleton. It stars Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks and Richard Baseheart. Music is by Franz Waxman and cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie. Effective old dark house mystery picture boasting star appeal and class from Guthrie and Waxman, Cry Wolf is an enjoyable failure. The story finds Babs Stanwyck as Sandra Marshall, who turns up at a creaky old mansion investigating the death of her husband. Met with a frosty reception by the lord of the manor, Mark Caldwell (Flynn), it's not long before Sandra is neck deep in intrigue and suspicious behaviours. Flynn and Stanwyck aren't asked to stretch themselves for this plot, in fact Flynn garnered unfair criticism for his portrayal of the shifty Mark Caldwell (wooden/miscast etc). Unfair because the character is meant to be restrained and sombre, keeping his cards close to his chest, you can certainly see why Flynn took the part, it was a chance to tackle something away from the flamboyant roles he was so iconically known for. As the main characters move through the standard plotting of such fare; what's the secrets of the house, what is going on in the locked room? And etc, the house is the major player. Again it's standard stuff, a place of creaky doors, shadowy rooms, ominous clock chimes and things that go bump in the night. Guthrie (Backfire/Caged/Highway 301) brings his awareness of film noir visual conventions to the piece, where all the night time sequences carry atmospheric punch. While Waxman at times scores it like a Universal Studios creature feature, which is just dandy, the string arrangements delightfully menacing. Some back projection work is poor, and although the twisty finale worked for me, I personally can understand it being a disappointment to others, while there's definitely the feeling of wasting the stars hanging over proceedings. Yet there's a nice old fashioned feel to the movie that charms, even if the stars and technical purveyors are bigger than the material handed to them. An enjoyable failure, indeed. 6/10
blckb5364
I think this movie is highly underrated. Errol Flynn and Barbara Stanwyck have great chemistry and both turned in superb performances. It's too bad they didn't make more movies together. I'm not sure why so many people think this an average movie at best, unless they can't see Errol Flynn as anything but a swashbuckler. I feel he had tremendous range as an actor. Even Bette Davis who had bashed Errol Flynn's acting abilities for decades admitted later in her life that Errol was "damn good!!" I recommend this to anyone who enjoys classic old movies, especially those who enjoy scary movies. One last note of interest is that I believe this may have been the last movie where Barbara Stanwyck's hair length goes past her shoulders.
AD
