The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)

Director: Robert Wise

Writers: Dana Lyon, Elick Moll, Frank Partos

Composer: Sol Kaplan

Starring: Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, William Lundigan, Fay Baker, Gordon Gebert, Steven Geray, Herbert Butterfield

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Shame is the mistress of this house and betrayal its master!

Plot: 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.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I digs me a good crime thriller from way back when and even the bad ones aren't all THAT bad.  The performances here are good/earnest and the story and music are alright.  I dig Robert Wise and all but this picture suffers from lack of interest.  You kind of know who's behind the bad stuff earlier than usual and then it's a simple waiting game for it to play out.  That doesn't mean I figured it out too early and I'm looking for a pat on the back but it's not all that mysterious.  After that, my interest started waning.  The picture is put together well but there's a lack of tension that you need to keep a film like this compelling.