The defence The Adrenaline Seeker
“Momentum is a formal choice.”
The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.
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Conflict
Thriller · 1945
Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll be free to marry her sister.
Movie details
Conflict
“SUSPENSE...SUSPICION...MAN-WOMAN DESIRES!”
1945 Thriller 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll be free to marry her sister.
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 Conflict?
For the defence
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
Desperate
Thriller · 1947
An innocent trucker takes it on the lam when he's accused of robbery.
Nightfall
Crime · 1956
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Pickup on South Street
Thriller · 1953
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Overdrive
Thriller · 2017
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
The Glass Key
Crime · 1942
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Woman on the Run
Thriller · 1950
Frank Johnson, a sole witness to a gangland murder, goes into hiding and is trailed by Police Inspector Ferris, on the theory that Frank is trying to escape from possible retaliation. Frank's wife, Eleanor, suspects he is actually running away from their unsuccessful marriage. Aided by a newspaperman, Danny Leggett, Eleanor sets out to locate her husband. The killer is also looking for him, and keeps close tabs on Eleanor.
Phantom Lady
Mystery · 1944
A devoted secretary embarks on a dangerous mission to try to find the elusive woman who may prove her boss didn't murder his wife.
Cause for Alarm!
Thriller · 1951
A bedridden and gravely ill man believes his wife and doctor are conspiring to kill him, and outlines his suspicions in a letter.
The Naked City
Crime · 1948
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
The Mirror Crack'd
Mystery · 1980
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Curtis Bernhardt
Written by
Dwight Taylor · Arthur T. Horman
Humphrey Bogart
Richard Mason
Alexis Smith
Evelyn Turner
Sydney Greenstreet
Mark Hamilton
Rose Hobart
Kathryn Mason
Charles Drake
Norman Holsworth
Grant Mitchell
Dr. Grant
Patrick O'Moore
Egan
Court is in session
Put Conflict on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Sentimental Softie
“Speed as an alibi.”
The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.