The Reckless Moment (The Blank Wall) (1949)

A good movie

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seemed to have a solid reputation (it is included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list among other things), I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a solid film noir, no doubt out it but, to be honest, the plot was slightly too thin for my taste. On the other hand, there is no denying that both Joan Bennett and James Mason gave some strong performances here. Indeed, I have to admit that I wasn’t really familiar with Bennett before watching this movie but she managed to be really convincing as a housewife and, yet, she was still quite charismatic at the same time and this balance act was trickier than it looked. It was also intriguing how she managed her whole household” read more

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (1940's) (86 movies items)

" Notes: It turned out to be a solid film noir, no doubt out it but, to be honest, the plot was slightly too thin for my taste. On the other hand, there is no denying that both Joan Bennett and James Mason gave some strong performances here. Indeed, I have to admit that I wasn’t really familiar with Bennett before watching this movie but she managed to be really convincing as a housewife and, yet, she was still quite charismatic at the same time and this balance act was trickier than it looked"

Slant’s 100 Best Film Noirs of All Time (100 movies items)

"Between her collaborations with Fritz Lang and role in Max Ophüls’s The Reckless Moment, Joan Bennett is surely the grande dame of noir. In Ophüls’s film, though, Bennet doesn’t play the role of the femme fatale, but a strong-willed mother struggling to maintain the seeming normalcy of her middle-class existence. Blackmail, murder, and dangerous gangsters all rear their ugly heads after Bennett’s Lucia, taking her role as protector of the family to irrational heights, disposes the body"

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) (1001 movies items)

" Notes: It turned out to be a solid film noir, no doubt out it but, to be honest, the plot was slightly too thin for my taste. On the other hand, there is no denying that both Joan Bennett and James Mason gave some strong performances here. Indeed, I have to admit that I wasn’t really familiar with Bennett before watching this movie but she managed to be really convincing as a housewife and, yet, she was still quite charismatic at the same time and this balance act was trickier than it looked"

Characters Wearing Veil in Films 2 (25 movies items)

" Joan Bennett and James Mason"

Project #1 -1001 Movies I Must see Before I die- (1167 movies items)

" Rating iMDB: My Rating: Director: Actors: Genre: The Plot:"