"Whirlpool" is a tale of kleptomania, hypnotherapy and murder in which the considerable talents of director Otto Preminger and Ben Hecht (who co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Solt) are harnessed effectively to produce a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable off-beat thriller.
Gene Tierney stars as Ann Sutton, the affluent and respectable wife of an eminent psychoanalyst, who finds herself in a fix when she's caught shoplifting. Fortunately, her embarrassment and likely prosecution are avoided by the timely intervention of another customer, David Korvo (Jose Ferrer). Korvo is a psychotherapist who convinces the store's management that Ann is clearly unwell and should, therefore, be released, especially as pursuing the matter further would be likely to draw adverse publicity to the business. As Ann is an account holder, the item of jewellery that she stole is returned to her and simply charged to her account.
Ann's relief is initially tempered by the suspicion that Korvo intends to blackmail her but when he disabuses her of that idea and gains her trust, she becomes a patient of his and he successfully treats her insomnia by using hypnotism before promising to give her treatment for her kleptomania. Although her marriage to William (Richard Conte) is a happy one, she has never been able to admit her problem to him.
It quickly becomes clear that the ultra smooth talking Korvo is actually an unscrupulous con-man who has designs on Ann and her money. However, when one of his ex-victims (who is coincidentally now one of Dr Sutton's patients) tells her what sort of man he is, she dismisses what's been said and totally ignores the warning. Later, the woman who gave Ann the warning is found murdered and all the evidence suggests that Ann was the murderer. Korvo is not implicated because he was undergoing gall bladder surgery at the time of the murder, and eventually Dr Sutton and police Lieutenant Colton (Charles Bickford) work together to determine who was responsible for the murder.
Korvo's slyness, deceit and manipulation are all wrapped up in a cloak of smugness, unctuous charm and pseudo-concern for his patients and Ferrer displays all these characteristics admirably. Gene Tierney expertly depicts the range of emotions felt by her character who is superficially serene, sophisticated and confident but is actually tormented by her internal struggle with a condition which is a powerful and malign force in her life and one which she is ashamed to admit, even to her husband.
Sadly, the well documented mental health problems that Gene Tierney endured in her own life, add an inescapable poignancy to the experience of seeing her excellent portrayals of characters such as Ann Sutton and of course, Ellen Berent in "Leave Her To Heaven".
Standards and practices in psychiatry and psychotherapy have changed considerably since "Whirlpool" was made and anyone watching it now will need to make allowances for this and also suspend their disbelief at a couple of the plot's more bizarre twists which come over as much less credible now than they may have seemed at the time.
Gene Tierney stars as Ann Sutton, the affluent and respectable wife of an eminent psychoanalyst, who finds herself in a fix when she's caught shoplifting. Fortunately, her embarrassment and likely prosecution are avoided by the timely intervention of another customer, David Korvo (Jose Ferrer). Korvo is a psychotherapist who convinces the store's management that Ann is clearly unwell and should, therefore, be released, especially as pursuing the matter further would be likely to draw adverse publicity to the business. As Ann is an account holder, the item of jewellery that she stole is returned to her and simply charged to her account.
Ann's relief is initially tempered by the suspicion that Korvo intends to blackmail her but when he disabuses her of that idea and gains her trust, she becomes a patient of his and he successfully treats her insomnia by using hypnotism before promising to give her treatment for her kleptomania. Although her marriage to William (Richard Conte) is a happy one, she has never been able to admit her problem to him.
It quickly becomes clear that the ultra smooth talking Korvo is actually an unscrupulous con-man who has designs on Ann and her money. However, when one of his ex-victims (who is coincidentally now one of Dr Sutton's patients) tells her what sort of man he is, she dismisses what's been said and totally ignores the warning. Later, the woman who gave Ann the warning is found murdered and all the evidence suggests that Ann was the murderer. Korvo is not implicated because he was undergoing gall bladder surgery at the time of the murder, and eventually Dr Sutton and police Lieutenant Colton (Charles Bickford) work together to determine who was responsible for the murder.
Korvo's slyness, deceit and manipulation are all wrapped up in a cloak of smugness, unctuous charm and pseudo-concern for his patients and Ferrer displays all these characteristics admirably. Gene Tierney expertly depicts the range of emotions felt by her character who is superficially serene, sophisticated and confident but is actually tormented by her internal struggle with a condition which is a powerful and malign force in her life and one which she is ashamed to admit, even to her husband.
Sadly, the well documented mental health problems that Gene Tierney endured in her own life, add an inescapable poignancy to the experience of seeing her excellent portrayals of characters such as Ann Sutton and of course, Ellen Berent in "Leave Her To Heaven".
Standards and practices in psychiatry and psychotherapy have changed considerably since "Whirlpool" was made and anyone watching it now will need to make allowances for this and also suspend their disbelief at a couple of the plot's more bizarre twists which come over as much less credible now than they may have seemed at the time.