Back to trending
The House on Telegraph Hill

The House on Telegraph Hill

Thriller · Drama · Mystery · 1951

Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finds herself involved in mystery, greed, and murder when she assumes the identity of a dead friend in order to gain passage to America.

Movie details

The House on Telegraph Hill

“Shame is the mistress of this house and betrayal its master!”

1951 Thriller · Drama · Mystery 1h 33m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finds herself involved in mystery, greed, and murder when she assumes the identity of a dead friend in order to gain passage to America.

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 The House on Telegraph Hill?

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.

The Deadly Affair

The Deadly Affair

Thriller · 1967

Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have some clues, but other officials want Dobbs to drop the case. So Dobbs hires a retiring inspector, Mendel, to quietly make inquiries. Dobbs isn't at all sure as there are a number of anomalies that simply can't be explained away. Dobbs is also having trouble at home with his errant wife, whom he very much loves, having frequent affairs. He's also pleased to see an old friend, Dieter Frey, who he recruited after the war. With the assistance of a colleague and a retired policeman, Dobbs tries to piece together just who is the spy and who in fact assassinated Fennan.

2073

2073

Thriller · 2024

Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.

Remember

Remember

Drama · 2015

With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.

The Lady from Shanghai

The Lady from Shanghai

Mystery · 1947

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

The Mask of Dimitrios

The Mask of Dimitrios

Crime · 1944

A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.

Laura

Laura

Drama · 1944

A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.

Dark Passage

Dark Passage

Thriller · 1947

A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.

The Deep End of the Ocean

The Deep End of the Ocean

Drama · 1999

A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.

Brute Force

Brute Force

Crime · 1947

Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?

Killer's Kiss

Killer's Kiss

Thriller · 1955

Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Wise

Written by

Elick Moll · Frank Partos

Richard Basehart

Richard Basehart

Alan Spender

Valentina Cortese

Valentina Cortese

Victoria Kowelska

William Lundigan

William Lundigan

Major Marc Bennett

Fay Baker

Fay Baker

Margaret

G

Gordon Gebert

Christopher

Steven Geray

Steven Geray

Dr. Burkhardt

Herbert Butterfield

Herbert Butterfield

Joseph C. Callahan

Court is in session

Put The House on Telegraph Hill on trial.

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

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“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.