The Guilty (1947) [w/Commentary] [Flicker Alley]

Director: John Reinhardt
Writers: Robert Presnell Sr. (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich (story "He Looked Like Murder")
Stars: Bonita Granville, Don Castle, Regis Toomey

The Guilty, released by Monogram Pictures, is a triumph of resourcefulness for its nomadic Viennese director, John Reinhardt. Based on a short story by legendary suspense writer Cornell Woolrich, this little-seen B movie centers on war veterans Mike Carr (Don Castle) and Johnny Dixon (Wally Cassell), roommates in a low-rent tenement. They are romantically entangled with twin sisters Estelle and Linda Mitchell (Bonita Granville, in a dual role). When one sister turns up dead, the boys are hounded by a suspicious police inspector (Regis Toomey) – although there’s no shortage of suspects. Working on only three sets, with a shoestring budget, Reinhardt and director of photography Henry Sharp evoke the dreadful, dead-of-night ambiance that was the domain of the era’s most prolific noir scribe, Cornell Woolrich.

Thanks to the dedication of the Film Noir Foundation, The Guilty has been restored from a 35mm nitrate composite fine-grain master by UCLA Film & Television Archive.



Audio Commentary by prize-winning noir author & film studies instructor Jake Hinkson

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