Still, it's a genre bender, and a good one, about a pianist and composer (Laird Cregar) who suffers periodic blackouts. When a series of murders occurs, he begins to suspect himself as the perpetrator. However, a Scotland Yard doctor (George Middleton) says this can't be, based on the evidence.
Stressed out from being wrapped up in his work writing a new concerto, Cregar slums it in a beer hall only to fall in love with a singer (Linda Darnell) who has a hit with one of his songs and begins to string him along in hopes of more hits, even though she's engaged to be married to someone else.
Not really the way you want to treat a guy who thinks he might be in the middle of a murder spree.
As you might expect from this set up, things proceed to a tragic and dramatic conclusion, all set against the backdrop of Cregar's concerto performance.
Bernard Herrmann wrote the music, and it's a killer soundtrack. It could stand on its own but also does a really good job of reflecting the mood of the film. And, to the film's credit, there are very, very convincing scenes of Cregar pounding out the notes on the piano. I'm not sure how they did it -- if Cregar was a pianist, or if he just memorized where to put his fingers, or what, but all you have to do is look at Dooley Wilson's work in CASABLANCA (around the same time) to see a huge difference in good cinematic pretend piano playing and bad cinematic pretend piano playing.
Cregar is good as the depressed, stressed, and psychotic lead, able to be an every-man and a villain all at the same time, and the film is shot as moodily as any noir, but with the Victorian twist that makes it unique.
The film's director, John Brahm, also made THE LODGER, coming soon to Horrorfest, so I'm interested to see if that's as awesome a combination of noir and horror as this one was.
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