The timid pharmacist Warren Quimby (Richard Basehart) works hard in the night shift of a drugstore to give a good life to his promiscuous wife Claire Quimby (Audrey Totter). When Claire leaves him to live with her lover, the liquor salesman Barney Deager (Lloyd Gough), Warren plots a scheme to kill Barney. He creates a new identity of a man called Paul Sothern and moves during the weekends to an apartment, telling that he is a traveling salesman to explain the absence along the week. He creates evidences that Paul Sothern wants to get rid off Barney, but soon he falls in love with his next door neighbor Mary Chanler (Cyd Charisse). One night, he goes to the Barney's house by Malibu beach but he gives up killing him; instead he tells Barney that he will divorce Claire. He goes home to move to Mary's apartment but out of the blue, Claire returns and tells that Barney was murdered. When Lieutenants Collier Bonnabel (Barry Sullivan) and Edgar Gonsales (William Conrad) come to his apartment, Warren provides alibi to Claire. However the smart Lieutenant Bonnabel proceeds his investigation and finds that Warren Quimby and Paul Sothern are the same man and Warren is arrested. Will Bonnabel finds the truth?
"Tension" is a great film-noir, with an excellent story of a meek cuckold that is humiliated when his unfaithful wife moves to the house of her lover and plots an intelligent revenge plan to kill his competitor. Richard Basehart and Audrey Totter are perfect in their roles with excellent performances. He calls off his scheme but the man is killed anyway and he is forced by his wife to provide alibi to her. The "modus operandi" of the cynical detective Collier Bonnabel building tension among the suspects and his final action telling to Claire that the furniture in Paul's apartment had been replaced is unique. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Tensão" ("Tension")
"Tension" is a great film-noir, with an excellent story of a meek cuckold that is humiliated when his unfaithful wife moves to the house of her lover and plots an intelligent revenge plan to kill his competitor. Richard Basehart and Audrey Totter are perfect in their roles with excellent performances. He calls off his scheme but the man is killed anyway and he is forced by his wife to provide alibi to her. The "modus operandi" of the cynical detective Collier Bonnabel building tension among the suspects and his final action telling to Claire that the furniture in Paul's apartment had been replaced is unique. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Tensão" ("Tension")