I love this movie and am interested in seeing others similar to it. What I mean is whodunnit movies that take place in London in the 40s, 50s, or 60s. The only other one I can think of is "23 Paces to Baker Street," starring Van Johnson.
Does anyone know other movies that are similar to Midnight Lace?
maybe check out george cukor's 'gaslight' (1944).
shareid say maybe
sorry wrong number
dial m for murder
or
gaslight
Funny you mentioned those movies, as I was thinking of those three exactly.
I've often felt that this was an update of Gaslight.
Dial M for Murder was made six years before this, and I have wondered before if this movie was made to emulate that film a bit.
A very good list that includes movies very similar to this one.
I kind of hesitate naming other movies that are similar to this one for fear of sort of giving away the plot. So I'll just give a list that shares some things in common...
Goldie Hawn was in a more recent one called Deceived.
Suspicion is a film by Hitchcock (a damn good one) that has similarities.
Rebecca, another film by Hitch has similar qualities.
The Eligible Bachelor from the Granada Television series of Sherlock Holmes adventures starring Jeremy Brett.
Jane Eyre has some things in common (if you think about it).
Malice, with Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman and Bill Pullman has some similarities.
There was a movie, or an detective episode that I'm racking my brain to remember. Basically it went something like this...
A man starts doing things to make his wife go bonkers. He is in collusion with a maid in the house that starts wearing the wife's dresses, and the woman ends up (somehow) wearing the maids. The man gets two doctors (who may be in on it) to come and observe the "wife" (who is actually the maid wearing the wife's dresses and acting all crazy) and commit her to an institution. On the day the funny farm wagon comes, some how the wife gets the better of them and they end up carting off the maid instead. I cannot remember the name of the episode, but it certain has similarities with both Gaslight and this movie.
"...nothing is left of me, each time I see her..." - Catullus
Death On The Nile starring Peter Ustinov and Mia Farrow is set in the late 1930's and I think it starts out in London. Laura (1944)starring Gene Tierney and The Uninvited (1944)starring Ray Milland and Gail Russell remind me of this one.
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A very good movie starting in London and continuing in Cornwall is "My Name is Julia Ross" (1945) with Nina Foch.
I'm not sure if "Arabesque" (Sophia Loren & Gregory Peck) starts in London, but it's another good thriller from the mid sixties as is "Blindfold" with Rock Hudson & Claudia Cardinale (unfortunately not available on VHS or DVD).
Gary Cooper last movie, "The Naked Edge" (Deborah Kerr) takes place in London and that is one great thriller!
"Cottage to let" (1941) with John Mills is pretty spooky and and so is "Nightmare" (1942) with Brian Donlevy and Diana Barrymore (only available in ioffer).
Another great Doris Day thriller (but it takes place in the US) is "Julie", with Louis Jourdan.
"Dead of Night" (1945) with Michael Redgrave takes place partly in London and partly in the country.
"Hunted" with Dirk Bogarde starts out in London and continues in the countryside and so does "The Clouded Yellow" with Jean Simmons.
"Leave her to Heaven" (1942) with Gene Tierney is in MHO much more thrilling than "Laura", but it does not take place in London.
"The Reckless Moment" (1949) with Joan Bennett is a classic.
A very good thriller is "Five Miles to Midnight" (1963) with Sophia Loren and Anthony Perkins, however it takes place in Paris.
One of Hitchcock best thrillers (The Man who knew too much, 1956) has been filmed partly in London.
"They won't believe me" (1947) is a very good thriller, but unfortunately not located in London.
One of the spookiest thrillers I ever watched was "The Uninvited" (1944, with Ray Milland), it takes place in Cornwall, but might start out in London.
"Woman in Hiding" is the best Ida Lupino thriller out there and "The Accused" is the best Loretta Young thriller.
"Cause for Alarm" (1951) is another good Loretta Young thriller, but not filmed in London. Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" has already been mentioned in one of the posts. "Man in the Attic" with Jack Palance is about Jack the Ripper.
"Man in the Net" (1959, with Alan Ladd) is a superb little thriller, but filmed in Connecticut in the country.
"Sudden Fear" is probably the most suspenseful Joan Crawford thriller, but definitely not filmed in London :(.
Yes, "23 Paces to Baker Street" is one of the best thrillers made in London, it's so great that it could be from Hitchcock.
How about "Witness for the Prosecution" with Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power and Charles Laughton.
"Blow Up" (1966, by Antonioni with David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave) takes place in the swinging sixties in London (the park scenes have been filmed in Maryon Park in Greenwich).
"Charade" is a lovely thriller with Cary Grant & Audrey Hepburn, but takes place mostly in Paris.
A very suspenseful movie is "The Collector" by William Wyler with Samantha Eggar and Terence Stamp. Some scenes have been filmed in London, but most of it takes place in the countryside.
Hope this helps.
Waldenpond thank you so much for that wonderful list - I've seen maybe half of them and loved them, so am pretty excited to start digging for the other half!
Again, thank you for taking the time to really answer the op's original question.
Why wish for the moon when we can have the stars?
"The Postman Always Rings Twice" with Lana Turner and John Garfield
"The Two Mrs. Carrolls" (1947) with Barbara Stanwyck and Humphrey Bogart
"Double Indemnity" (1944) with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
"Dragonwyck" with Gene Tierney and Vincent Price
"Secret Beyond the Door" (1947) with Joan Bennett
"Conflct" with Humphrey Bogart and Alexis Smith
"Night Must Fall" with Rosalind Russell, Robert Montgomery and May Witty
"Shadow of a Doubt" with Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten
You might like the mini-series "The Woman in White," based on an old Wilkie Collins Victorian gothic novel.
"Married? Goody-Two-Shoes and the Filthy Beast?!"
Wait Until Dark--Audrey Hepburn doing hysteria very effectively
shareYes, the woman in peril theme is pretty strong in the history of movies. Another set in London is Night Passage - with Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey and Susannah York. Who is trying to frighten Elizabeth Taylor to death?
I think you will find that one is called 'Night Watch'. 'Night Passage' is a 1957 western starring James Stewart and Audie Murphy.
shareYou might like to try the original British 1940 version of 'Gaslight' too. I think that MGM tried to destroy all the copies of it when they remade it in 1944. But it still exists and it's very good.
share