Portrait in Black [Blu-ray]

Director: Michael Gordon Michael Gordon

Overview

Wanting to be free of her crippled husband but not his enormous fortune, a glamorous wife talks her lover, who is also her spouse's personal physician, into injecting poison into the ailing industrialist. This crime melodrama chronicles the chain of events that leads to the murderous lovers' downfall. Though they successfully offed the husband, the two are not allowed to enjoy their new wealth and happiness for a letter sent to the wife reveals that someone knows about the crime. Believing that the anonymous author is her late-husbands investment advisor, the wife and her lover quickly dispatch him. When his body later turns up, another is blamed with the crime. Unfortunately, the villainous twosome, the accused is to marry the granddaughter of the deceased tycoon. Matters don't improve when the doctor/lover's conscience flares up and he decides to confess.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/28/2019
UPC:	0738329238131
Original Release:	1960
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	33,208

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Film Historian Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Lana Turner	Actor
Anthony Quinn	Actor
Sandra Dee	Actor
John Saxon	Actor
Richard Basehart	Howard Mason
Lloyd Nolan	Matthew Cabot,1st Detective,Detective
Ray Walston	Cob O'Brien
Virginia Grey	Miss Lee
Anna May Wong	Tani
Dennis Kohler	Peter Cabot
Paul Birch	Detective
John Wengraf	Dr. Kessler
Richard Norris	Mr. Corbin
Robert Lieb	Detective,Actor
John McNamara	Minister
Charles P. Thompson	Sid
George Womack	Foreman
Henry S. Quan	Headwaiter
Elizabeth Chan	Chinese Dancer
Harold Goodwin	Patrolman
Jack Bryan	Patrolman
Harold Miller	Funeral Guest
William H. O'Brien	Sheila's Chauffeur

Technical Credits

Ben Roberts

Michael Gordon	Director
Ross Hunter	Producer
Ben Roberts	Screenwriter
Ted White	Stunts
Waldon O. Watson	Sound Effects
Glenn E. Anderson	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

Revelations concerning Lana Turner's sordid personal life propelled Portrait in Black to respectable box office returns. Seen decades later, without the immediacy of the Turner scandal, there's little to recommend this glossy murder/soap opera. Sure, the production has all the glitz and glamour that one expects of a Ross Hunter production of the period. Turner is outfitted in some stunning Jean Louis creations, and she drapes herself in jewels that take the breath away. The star is also looking smashing, perhaps thanks in part to some careful soft focus lensing from Russell Metty, but also due to the fact that Turner simply had one of the most camera-friendly faces in films. But take away these surface assets, and there's really nothing to recommend Portrait. Turner's acting is by the numbers; it gets the job done and pushes the right buttons, but it's all mechanical. Anthony Quinn seems ill at ease, unable to make sense of a character whose motivations are hard to justify and even harder to play. Sandra Dee does perhaps better than one might expect, but her performance is not good enough to elevate the rest of the film. And Michael Gordon directs in a play-down-to-the-audience manner that helps not one whit. Those in the mood for some decent trashy fun will enjoy #Portrait -- but truth to tell, even they will find it a bit boring after a while.