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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.

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Where it lives

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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.