****SPOILERS**** Since her husband was killed in action on the Western Front war widow Helen Gordon, Ida Lupino, has been having a hard time keeping up and cleaning the Victorian style house her husband left her. It's when the handy man Howard Withon, Robert Ryan, showed up for work that Helen's housekeeping troubles were not only solved by the very eager to do a good job Howard he also put her safety and very life in danger as well.
Howard being the good and excellent worker that he is is very sensitive in what he thinks what people think of him and his work. He also has trouble remembering things like where he came from what he did and who he worked for previously as a handy man and most of all does he have a criminal record like assault & battery or even murder. Were shown that at his previous place of employment the lady of the house was found murdered by Howard and he just took off feeling that he while in some kind of self induced hypnotic trance murdered her.
All throughout the movie Howard goes from hot to cold, and bad to good, in his feeling about what Helen thinks about him and especially his work cleaning up her house. Helen at first thought that Howard was a bit of an odd-ball but harmless. That's until he went nuts when he found out that the room he wanted to stay at that Helen was renting out to Mr. Armstrong, Taylor Holmes, was not available to him. It's when Howard did find out that in fact Armstrong's room was rented out to a Mr. Franks, O.Z Whitehead, without his knowing that he completely flipped his lid!
With Howard now completely out of control Helen tries to get help by calling the police only to have Howard pull out the telephone cord and locked her in the house as he tries to figure out his next move. With Howard having serious memory problems he keeps forgetting what he's doing making Helen's desperate situation, in her being a prisoner in her own house, far worse then it already is.
****SPOILERS**** Even though Howard isn't someone you'd want to invite home for dinner with the family he is at times very childlike in his behavior and entertaining even if a bit nuts! Howard soon himself realizes that he's a dangerous and possibly homicidal lunatic in the few lucid moments he has in the film. It's then when he decides to turn himself over to the telephone repair man Mr.Stevens,James Willmas, who drives him to the local hospital mental clinic to get him help. The kind of help that Howard needed his entire life which by now, with him possibly involved with a slew of murders of housekeepers in and around town, he just about ruined.
Howard being the good and excellent worker that he is is very sensitive in what he thinks what people think of him and his work. He also has trouble remembering things like where he came from what he did and who he worked for previously as a handy man and most of all does he have a criminal record like assault & battery or even murder. Were shown that at his previous place of employment the lady of the house was found murdered by Howard and he just took off feeling that he while in some kind of self induced hypnotic trance murdered her.
All throughout the movie Howard goes from hot to cold, and bad to good, in his feeling about what Helen thinks about him and especially his work cleaning up her house. Helen at first thought that Howard was a bit of an odd-ball but harmless. That's until he went nuts when he found out that the room he wanted to stay at that Helen was renting out to Mr. Armstrong, Taylor Holmes, was not available to him. It's when Howard did find out that in fact Armstrong's room was rented out to a Mr. Franks, O.Z Whitehead, without his knowing that he completely flipped his lid!
With Howard now completely out of control Helen tries to get help by calling the police only to have Howard pull out the telephone cord and locked her in the house as he tries to figure out his next move. With Howard having serious memory problems he keeps forgetting what he's doing making Helen's desperate situation, in her being a prisoner in her own house, far worse then it already is.
****SPOILERS**** Even though Howard isn't someone you'd want to invite home for dinner with the family he is at times very childlike in his behavior and entertaining even if a bit nuts! Howard soon himself realizes that he's a dangerous and possibly homicidal lunatic in the few lucid moments he has in the film. It's then when he decides to turn himself over to the telephone repair man Mr.Stevens,James Willmas, who drives him to the local hospital mental clinic to get him help. The kind of help that Howard needed his entire life which by now, with him possibly involved with a slew of murders of housekeepers in and around town, he just about ruined.