Comments on: Bastille Day Cinema: Reign of Terror (1949)

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:01:49 +0000

Well, I guess it’s up to me to put in a kind word about Robert Cummings.
I grew up watching his work, and I always thought him an unusually versatile actor.
I saw “Reign of Terror” for the first time a year or two ago, and I loved his firm, low-key approach. I realize that I’m in the minority on this. No one ever broke down his door for more drama roles like this, it was his COMIC talent they were interested in exploiting.

By: R. Emmet Sweeney

R. Emmet Sweeney — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:17:58 +0000

Moira (and Jenni), I agree that Cummings does not make much of an impact in the film. Apparently Walter Wanger wanted Victor Mature before the budget was cut. But the film’s value for me lies in its astonishing visuals, so Cummings’ affectless portrayal doesn’t detract from the film’s impact too much (at least for me).

The standout performance is Arnold Moss as Fouche, whose tongue-in-cheek menace is delightful throughout.

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:57:36 +0000

I was so relieved to see the recent DVD of “Reign of Terror” was created from a better print than I’d ever seen of this dimly lit film before. I loved the way that you detail the various creative shortcuts Mann and Alton took in trying to make their stringent budget look much better than expected, and how this truly enhanced the psychological impact of the movie. I’m also cheered to see you mention the contributions of the sometimes controversial Philip Yordan to this and other films as well–I wonder if he might have taken the term “pulpy” as a compliment!?

I’m with Jenni regarding the seemingly odd casting of Robert Cummings here. I thought that Richard Basehart made an excellent and believable Robespierre, but each time Cummings came into view in this movie, he seemed a bit unreal to me. His role as a spy in “Reign of Terror” came at the end of a decade of some of that actor’s best work with some good scripts and directors, (including the “interesting failures” such as “Flesh and Fantasy”, “The Chase” and “The Lost Moment”, as well as the really good films Jenni mentioned). However, he just didn’t carry much weight as an actor for me, nor did he seem the least bit French in this movie. Did you think his casting helped the film?

Thanks for writing about this movie in such detail and for mentioning Leger Grindon’s book on historical films, “Shadows of the Past”, which I’ve just purchased thanks to your intriguing quotes from it.

By: Jerry 42nd Street Memories

Jerry 42nd Street Memories — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:35:05 +0000

Every good noir has a good thug and there’s no exception here. The great Charles McGraw (T-Men) as the chief executioner is noir heaven.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:51:36 +0000

Good example of how a lack of cash brings out the creativity even more in people. I will be watching this one, my French ancestors would want me to! One casting puzzlement to me is Robert Cummings. I saw him in Saboteur, thought he was fine there, and in King’s Row,but I still mainly think of him as a romance or comic actor, more than a dramatic one. I’ll have to do my own research on him, I guess.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:41:27 +0000

Thank you for the fascinating background.

I’ve never seen a really decent print of this movie. Is TCM about to make my dream come true?