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Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley

Drama · Thriller · Crime · 1947

A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.

Movie details

Nightmare Alley

“He was all things to all men… But only one thing to all women!”

1947 Drama · Thriller · Crime 1h 52m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Nightmare Alley?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Woman of Straw

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Edmund Goulding

Written by

Jules Furthman

Tyrone Power

Tyrone Power

Stanton 'Stan' Carlisle

Helen Walker

Helen Walker

Lilith Ritter

Coleen Gray

Coleen Gray

Molly Carlisle

Joan Blondell

Joan Blondell

Zeena Krumbein

Taylor Holmes

Taylor Holmes

Ezra Grindle

Mike Mazurki

Mike Mazurki

Bruno

Ian Keith

Ian Keith

Pete Krumbein

Court is in session

Put Nightmare Alley on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.