The title for the film may sound simplistic, but there was just something very intriguing about the story. There may be a little bias though, being a fan of crime dramas/mystery thrillers (my favourite genres when it comes to film and television, books too). The cast also sounded very interesting and the actors forming it are a talented bunch, am especially fond of Barbara Stanwyck. She have her fair share of not particularly good films but she was always a strength and the main reason to see them.
Although she did do much better films than 'The Man with a Cloak', she did do worse as well. She comes off very well here, as to be expected, as do the rest of the cast. Without her, 'The Man with a Cloak' would have been one of those watchable but average fare sort of films. With her though the film is not great or quite one of those repeat viewings-worthy films, but it is worth seeing for fans of the cast and of the genre(s). Anybody that loves 40s crime dramas and mystery thrillers set in a different period will find 'The Man with a Cloak' too.
Stanwyck is the best thing about 'The Man with a Cloak'. Her performance has a lot of formidable steel to it that helps make her character more unsettling, while not making the character one-dimensional. Joseph Cotten is suitably enigmatic and has a dashing yet mysterious charisma. Louis Calhern's character is a colourful one (in personality) and he seemed to be enjoying himself. Leslie Caron is endearingly innocent and Joe DeSantis and Jim Backus are solid in their roles, Backus in a departure role.
It's not just the cast that are good. There is a lot of atmosphere to the production values, especially the use of lighting and the eerie settings. The score is suitably haunting. The script does have a good deal of snappy and intelligent parts and the direction is generally slick and comfortable within the genre. The story is generally fun and gripping with the turns in the plot preventing it from being obvious without being too much that it goes too far the other way. The big twist is not the most earth shattering of ones but it was clever at least.
Not a perfect film by all means though. 'The Man with a Cloak' would have benefitted from a tighter pace and what would have solved that would have been having a tauter script. Some of it is on the long-winded side and some of it comes over as quite stiff.
Furthermore, 'The Man with a Cloak' could have done with more suspense as the mystery was all present and correct but needed more spark.
Overall, worth seeing but not a must see. 7/10
Although she did do much better films than 'The Man with a Cloak', she did do worse as well. She comes off very well here, as to be expected, as do the rest of the cast. Without her, 'The Man with a Cloak' would have been one of those watchable but average fare sort of films. With her though the film is not great or quite one of those repeat viewings-worthy films, but it is worth seeing for fans of the cast and of the genre(s). Anybody that loves 40s crime dramas and mystery thrillers set in a different period will find 'The Man with a Cloak' too.
Stanwyck is the best thing about 'The Man with a Cloak'. Her performance has a lot of formidable steel to it that helps make her character more unsettling, while not making the character one-dimensional. Joseph Cotten is suitably enigmatic and has a dashing yet mysterious charisma. Louis Calhern's character is a colourful one (in personality) and he seemed to be enjoying himself. Leslie Caron is endearingly innocent and Joe DeSantis and Jim Backus are solid in their roles, Backus in a departure role.
It's not just the cast that are good. There is a lot of atmosphere to the production values, especially the use of lighting and the eerie settings. The score is suitably haunting. The script does have a good deal of snappy and intelligent parts and the direction is generally slick and comfortable within the genre. The story is generally fun and gripping with the turns in the plot preventing it from being obvious without being too much that it goes too far the other way. The big twist is not the most earth shattering of ones but it was clever at least.
Not a perfect film by all means though. 'The Man with a Cloak' would have benefitted from a tighter pace and what would have solved that would have been having a tauter script. Some of it is on the long-winded side and some of it comes over as quite stiff.
Furthermore, 'The Man with a Cloak' could have done with more suspense as the mystery was all present and correct but needed more spark.
Overall, worth seeing but not a must see. 7/10