A toothsome little potboiler whose 65-minute length doesn't seem a second too short, My Name is Julia Ross harks back to an English tradition of things not being what they seem -- Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes is one example. Out-of-work Julia Ross (Nina Foch) finds a dream job at a new employment agency in London, whose sinister representative seems very anxious to ascertain if she has living relatives or a boyfriend. After reporting to duty, she wakes up (Having Been Drugged) in a vast Manderley-like pile on the Cornish coast, supposedly as the barmy-in-the-crumpet wife of George Macready, who displays an alarming interest in knives and ice picks. His doting, enabling mum is the irresistible Dame May Whitty (this time a model of bustling efficiency on the other side of good-vs-evil than she occupied in The Lady Vanishes). The nightmare vision of this tale unfolds claustrophobically; we know what's going on but are powerless to tell poor Julia. This movie, curiously, is regularly accorded a place of honor as one of the earliest (and very few British) films noirs. I think it's closer to the Gothic old-dark-house tradition than the American one of wet cobblestones and urban corruption; it does, however, evince a more modern, psychoanalytic cast of mind. Whatever you call it, it remains a sharply satisfying thriller.
71 Reviews
Unexpected pleasure
samhill521523 October 2008
Having watched this film strictly on the strength of reviewers' ratings I was most pleasantly surprised. Although clearly low-budget, it bears the signs of clever ingenuity. For example, when Julia wakes in the strange house and looks out the window I found myself thinking that her sense of isolation would be enhanced with an exterior shot focused on her face and then moving backwards to include the house and its isolated location. And lo and behold! the next scene was exactly that last shot of the house standing lonely on the cliff at the water's edge. There are other examples of how a clever director can elevate his film to the level of a very enjoyable thriller. Savvy viewers will surely spot them but should rest assured they will not be disappointed.
As to the performances, George Macready is his usual creepy self, barely maintaining his composure while suggesting a capacity for unadulterated violence. Nina Foch was surprisingly good as the no-nonsense working girl who's not about to submit without a fight. But Dame May Witty, oh boy, she even had me doubting my own eyes and believing she could get away with her evil schemes.
This a real diamond in the rough and not to be missed.
As to the performances, George Macready is his usual creepy self, barely maintaining his composure while suggesting a capacity for unadulterated violence. Nina Foch was surprisingly good as the no-nonsense working girl who's not about to submit without a fight. But Dame May Witty, oh boy, she even had me doubting my own eyes and believing she could get away with her evil schemes.
This a real diamond in the rough and not to be missed.
Quickie feature from Columbia is taut but very brief...
moonspinner553 April 2004
Second-feature concerns a young woman in London desperate for a job, happy to accept live-in secretarial position with an elderly woman and her son. Thrillers about people being held in a house against their will always make me a little uneasy--I end up feeling like a prisoner too--but this rather classy B-film is neither lurid nor claustrophobic. It's far-fetched and unlikely, but not uninteresting, and our heroine (Nina Foch) is quick on her feet. Rehashing this in 1986 (as "Dead Of Winter") proved not to be wise, as the plot-elements are not of the modern-day. "Julia Ross" is extremely compact (too short at 65 minutes!) but it stays the course nicely until a too-rushed climax, which feels a little sloppy. *** from ****
Hide the Furniture Cushions
dougdoepke2 November 2008
For those who think of Dame May Witty as the kindly, slightly batty, old lady from Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, this movie requires an adjustment. Here, she's anything but kindly or batty. Instead, her son, George Macready is the loony one. Just don't give him a knife, otherwise his eyes light up and no furniture cushion in the house is safe. Now we know what he has in mind for the trapped Nina Foch if he can just get out from under Mother's domineering hand.
Really tight little woman-in-danger film that keeps the suspense on high throughout. The script never strays from Foch's dilemma. She's held prisoner in a big old Gothic house on the edge of an angry sea. They're going to kill her, but why. Her predicament makes no sense. The tension mounts as she tries one escape ploy after another, but even strangers seem against her. We begin to feel her helplessness and mounting paranoia as the world turns away from her.
Director Joseph H. Lewis took a big step toward cult status with this film and understandably so. Then too, watch Foch run subtly through a gamut of emotions without once going over the top. Witty too shines as a really intimidating matriarch who knows what she wants and how to get it if she can just keep her wacko son in line. My one reservation is the climax which seems too contrived considering the timing of the events. Nonetheless, it's a good, nerve-wracking way to spend a little over an hour, courtesy Columbia studios.
Really tight little woman-in-danger film that keeps the suspense on high throughout. The script never strays from Foch's dilemma. She's held prisoner in a big old Gothic house on the edge of an angry sea. They're going to kill her, but why. Her predicament makes no sense. The tension mounts as she tries one escape ploy after another, but even strangers seem against her. We begin to feel her helplessness and mounting paranoia as the world turns away from her.
Director Joseph H. Lewis took a big step toward cult status with this film and understandably so. Then too, watch Foch run subtly through a gamut of emotions without once going over the top. Witty too shines as a really intimidating matriarch who knows what she wants and how to get it if she can just keep her wacko son in line. My one reservation is the climax which seems too contrived considering the timing of the events. Nonetheless, it's a good, nerve-wracking way to spend a little over an hour, courtesy Columbia studios.
A nice little gem
bkoganbing1 December 2019
My Name Is Julia Ross is one of those gems that every now and then come from
the B end of a major studio. Columbia Pictures did this one and got a good cast
of some as yet unknown players.
The title role is played by Nina Foch in her salad days and she applies for a position as a secretary to Dame May Whitty. It's all a ruse as she's whisked off to the Cornwall coast from London.
Foch is kept in a genteel prison and she's constantly referred to as Whitty's balmy daughter-in-law, wife of George MacReady. Foch is having trouble keeping her own sanity as she searches for the reason that Whitty, MacReady, and the rest of the staff are treating her as they are.
This film is a solidly cast one with Foch, Peters, and Whitty just perfect in their parts. If broadcast don't miss this one.
The title role is played by Nina Foch in her salad days and she applies for a position as a secretary to Dame May Whitty. It's all a ruse as she's whisked off to the Cornwall coast from London.
Foch is kept in a genteel prison and she's constantly referred to as Whitty's balmy daughter-in-law, wife of George MacReady. Foch is having trouble keeping her own sanity as she searches for the reason that Whitty, MacReady, and the rest of the staff are treating her as they are.
This film is a solidly cast one with Foch, Peters, and Whitty just perfect in their parts. If broadcast don't miss this one.
Entertaining Film-Noir
claudio_carvalho26 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
In London, Julia Ross (Nina Foch) is totally broken and unsuccessfully seeking a job. Her previous love affair with the lawyer Dennis Bruce (Roland Varno) has ended and he has just married with another woman on the previous night. When she sees an advertisement in a newspaper in the boarding house where she lives, she goes to the employment agency and she is interviewed by Ms. Sparkes (Anita Sharp-Bolster). When she learns that Julia is alone in London with neither relatives nor boyfriend, she offers a job position of private secretary with the wealthy Mrs. Hughes (Dame May Witty) and her son Ralph Hughes (George Macready). Julia is immediately hired and Mrs. Hughes tells that she must move to her house that night. Julia goes to the boarding house of Mrs. Mackie (Doris Lloyd) to pack her things and she meets Dennis that called off his wedding. They schedule a date for the next Friday and she goes to the house. Julia wakes up two days later at a seaside manor in Cornwall. Further, the employees believe that she is Marion Hughes, the wife of Ralph, who is unstable due to a nervous breakdown and delusional. Soon she learns that Ralph has killed Marion and now she is his alibi. Further he is plotting a scheme to kill her as if she had committed suicide. What can Julia do to save her life?
"My Name is Julia Ross" is an entertaining film with an original story unlikely to happen. Julia Ross trapped in the mansion usually does not take the correct attitudes. Arthur Penn's "Dead Winter" uses a different storyline that slightly recalls the general idea of "My Name is Julia Ross". My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Trágico Álibi" ("Tragic Alibi")
"My Name is Julia Ross" is an entertaining film with an original story unlikely to happen. Julia Ross trapped in the mansion usually does not take the correct attitudes. Arthur Penn's "Dead Winter" uses a different storyline that slightly recalls the general idea of "My Name is Julia Ross". My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Trágico Álibi" ("Tragic Alibi")
My name ain't Hugues!
dbdumonteil4 December 2019
An excellent little thriller ,infuenced by Hitchcock,which was remade by Arthur Penn as "dead of winter" ;an anomaly in his filmography ,his version was closer to the horror movies of the eighties, with even gore thrown in for good measure.
Joseph E.Lewis 's work is in the Gothic tradition ,with its castle by the sea and its park with high gates a la "Rebecca" ;Nina Foch is efficient as the damsel in distress, who fortunately proves herself often smarter than her persecutors ;George McRead and the marvelous Dame May Whitty,terrifying under her genial comforting attitude ,give good support ;although the film is rather short (65 min) we feel that this son has remained a little boy under his mom's thumb.
(as it often happens in sir Hitchcock's works)
Sit back ,turn off the lights and get some scares .
A Charming and Truly Suspenseful Little Gothic Thriller
evanston_dad18 December 2006
Nina Foch delivers a surprisingly strong performance as the title character in this fun little Gothic nail-biter. She accepts a position as secretary to a London society dowager (played imperiously by Dame May Witty) and her creepy son (the effete and bothersome George Macready). Before she knows it, she awakens to find herself in a seaside manor she's never seen before, where Witty and Macready are calling her Marian and trying to convince the servants and the nearby townspeople that she's Macready's mad wife. Of course this pair can only be planning dastardly deeds, and even though we know Julia has to eventually escape her trap, director Joseph Lewis builds real suspense in answering the question of just how she'll manage it.
"My Name Is Julia Ross" has nothing stylistically to set it apart from any number of films that came out at the same time period, but I was surprised by how well it held together despite its shoe-string budget and B-movie pedigree. There are quite a few moments that just may have you on the edge of your seat, and I found myself really rooting for Julia as she caught on to the scheme underfoot and began to outsmart her captors. In any other Gothic thriller, the heroine would have swooned, screamed and dithered, waiting for her hero to come and save her. So I can't tell you how refreshing it was to have the heroine in this film use her brain and figure out how to save herself.
Well done.
Grade: B+
"My Name Is Julia Ross" has nothing stylistically to set it apart from any number of films that came out at the same time period, but I was surprised by how well it held together despite its shoe-string budget and B-movie pedigree. There are quite a few moments that just may have you on the edge of your seat, and I found myself really rooting for Julia as she caught on to the scheme underfoot and began to outsmart her captors. In any other Gothic thriller, the heroine would have swooned, screamed and dithered, waiting for her hero to come and save her. So I can't tell you how refreshing it was to have the heroine in this film use her brain and figure out how to save herself.
Well done.
Grade: B+
My title is 'Just Rosy'
daniewhite-129 April 2020
A mood piece, a psychological thriller in the vein of the trapped woman, and an example of betrayal melodrama.
'My Name is Julia Ross' certainly explores a lot further than it's script and it's production scale would suggest. A juicy, implausible, unoriginal, rapid and thin story which was clearly filmed as a strict b-movie production is given a very elevated treatment courtesy of the director, who ably aids the three lead actors to give decent performances in portraying their equally unoriginal characters.
But the palpable value is all in the treatment; in the surface layer of direction and photography which are able, when combined with three good turns from Nina Roch, May Whitty and George Macready, to develop a cloying tonality which expressively illuminates the subject of a betrayed and imperilled woman.
As long as the viewer is able to accept that the whole thing is a confidence trick, and is willing to lend 'My Name is Julia Ross' that supply of confidence then it delivers a marvellous melodrama mood piece in the Gothic style.
I rate 7/10 and I recommend to anyone who isn't requiring a film to make sense but is instead happy to afford artistic licence to the director. In which case it is just rosy and a nice example of making a stylish and thematically compatible film out of a streaky b-movie story and production.
'My Name is Julia Ross' certainly explores a lot further than it's script and it's production scale would suggest. A juicy, implausible, unoriginal, rapid and thin story which was clearly filmed as a strict b-movie production is given a very elevated treatment courtesy of the director, who ably aids the three lead actors to give decent performances in portraying their equally unoriginal characters.
But the palpable value is all in the treatment; in the surface layer of direction and photography which are able, when combined with three good turns from Nina Roch, May Whitty and George Macready, to develop a cloying tonality which expressively illuminates the subject of a betrayed and imperilled woman.
As long as the viewer is able to accept that the whole thing is a confidence trick, and is willing to lend 'My Name is Julia Ross' that supply of confidence then it delivers a marvellous melodrama mood piece in the Gothic style.
I rate 7/10 and I recommend to anyone who isn't requiring a film to make sense but is instead happy to afford artistic licence to the director. In which case it is just rosy and a nice example of making a stylish and thematically compatible film out of a streaky b-movie story and production.
We're doing everything in our power to make you well again.
hitchcockthelegend20 October 2013
My Name Is Julia Ross is directed by Joseph H. Lewis and adapted to screenplay by Muriel Roy Bolton from The Woman in Red written by Anthony Gilbert. It stars Nina Foch, Dame Mary Witty, George Macready, Roland Varno, Anita Sharp-Bolster and Doris Lloyd. Music is by Mischa Bakaleinikoff and cinematography by Burnett Guffey.
Julia Ross (Foch) out of work and in debt arrears to her landlady, hastily accepts a in-house secretarial position to Mrs. Hughes (Whitty). Starting work in the Hughes house in London the first night, she wakes up two days later in a cliff-top mansion in Cornwall. She is told she has been away with mental health problems, her name is Marion Hughes and she is married to Ralph Hughes (Macready)...
A very important film in the career of the great Joseph H. Lewis, My Name is Julia Ross would effectively put the director on the map, with noir fans subsequently rewarded with the likes of Gun Crazy and The Big Combo. Compact in running time (65 minutes) and budget, it's a film that showcases just what real good work could be achieved by a director and photographer noir team working under tight restrictions; classical noir production if you like.
Story as it is is pretty straightforward and familiar, but atmosphere and visual smartness ensure this is no walk down retread lane. It falls into the Gothic noir spectrum of films, following in the traditions of Rebecca, Gaslight and Suspicion. In fact, it's also very much "old dark house" on staple terms, with eerie staircase, wood panelled rooms, secret passageways and even a black cat. While the setting, house on a seaside cliff where the mist rolls in at night, is splendidly moody.
The characterisations (very well performed by the cast) are vivid and odd, with us clearly meant to note that Julia Ross is clearly the only normal being in the Hughes household! Best of the bunch is Macready's Ralph Hughes, the catalyst for all the things that are happening, he fondles his knives like a fetishist, a truly memorable noir antagonist.
Ultimately it's what Lewis and Guffey bring to the fore that makes the film better than it is on the page. Expressionistic touches are here of course, but it's the skew-whiff camera placements and up close POV shots that bring the viewer into Julia's confused new world. Memorable scenes are frequent, be it a rain sodden street or Julia peering through the bars of her bedroom, there's visual treats aplenty here.
The ending is all to quick and as is often the case in this type of narrative, implausibilities need to be ignored. But that is easy to do, because with atmosphere unbound and not a shot wasted, this is a safe recommendation to the Gothic noir faithful. 8/10
Julia Ross (Foch) out of work and in debt arrears to her landlady, hastily accepts a in-house secretarial position to Mrs. Hughes (Whitty). Starting work in the Hughes house in London the first night, she wakes up two days later in a cliff-top mansion in Cornwall. She is told she has been away with mental health problems, her name is Marion Hughes and she is married to Ralph Hughes (Macready)...
A very important film in the career of the great Joseph H. Lewis, My Name is Julia Ross would effectively put the director on the map, with noir fans subsequently rewarded with the likes of Gun Crazy and The Big Combo. Compact in running time (65 minutes) and budget, it's a film that showcases just what real good work could be achieved by a director and photographer noir team working under tight restrictions; classical noir production if you like.
Story as it is is pretty straightforward and familiar, but atmosphere and visual smartness ensure this is no walk down retread lane. It falls into the Gothic noir spectrum of films, following in the traditions of Rebecca, Gaslight and Suspicion. In fact, it's also very much "old dark house" on staple terms, with eerie staircase, wood panelled rooms, secret passageways and even a black cat. While the setting, house on a seaside cliff where the mist rolls in at night, is splendidly moody.
The characterisations (very well performed by the cast) are vivid and odd, with us clearly meant to note that Julia Ross is clearly the only normal being in the Hughes household! Best of the bunch is Macready's Ralph Hughes, the catalyst for all the things that are happening, he fondles his knives like a fetishist, a truly memorable noir antagonist.
Ultimately it's what Lewis and Guffey bring to the fore that makes the film better than it is on the page. Expressionistic touches are here of course, but it's the skew-whiff camera placements and up close POV shots that bring the viewer into Julia's confused new world. Memorable scenes are frequent, be it a rain sodden street or Julia peering through the bars of her bedroom, there's visual treats aplenty here.
The ending is all to quick and as is often the case in this type of narrative, implausibilities need to be ignored. But that is easy to do, because with atmosphere unbound and not a shot wasted, this is a safe recommendation to the Gothic noir faithful. 8/10
Nina Foch stars in low-budget early film noir...
Doylenf19 April 2007
MY NAMES IS JULIA ROSS is a neat little thriller from Columbia later remade in '87 as DEAD OF WINTER with Mary Steenburgen as the unfortunate girl who finds herself prisoner in a strange household.
Here it's NINA FOCH who answers an employment agency ad and ends up in a household ruled by DAME MAY Witty and GEORGE MACREADY--and a plan that must have seemed daring and original when the story first appeared in '45.
Seems that she wakes up after a drugged night of sleep and finds out she has a new identity--no longer Julia Ross. Macready declares that he's her husband and Dame May Witty calls her by a different name. The two of them are conspiring to keep her there until their ultimate plan is carried out. Foch, of course, intends to get to the bottom of the thing and free herself from their hold on her.
What really hurts the story is the manufactured ending which is much too abrupt and too full of coincidence and loopholes to be believable. But still, while you're watching the story unfold, it does have its share of tension and suspense.
Personally, I prefer the more elaborately plotted remake with Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall which came along in the '80s, called DEAD OF WINTER.
Here it's NINA FOCH who answers an employment agency ad and ends up in a household ruled by DAME MAY Witty and GEORGE MACREADY--and a plan that must have seemed daring and original when the story first appeared in '45.
Seems that she wakes up after a drugged night of sleep and finds out she has a new identity--no longer Julia Ross. Macready declares that he's her husband and Dame May Witty calls her by a different name. The two of them are conspiring to keep her there until their ultimate plan is carried out. Foch, of course, intends to get to the bottom of the thing and free herself from their hold on her.
What really hurts the story is the manufactured ending which is much too abrupt and too full of coincidence and loopholes to be believable. But still, while you're watching the story unfold, it does have its share of tension and suspense.
Personally, I prefer the more elaborately plotted remake with Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall which came along in the '80s, called DEAD OF WINTER.
Great Film Deserving of Its Reputation
utgard1413 November 2013
Exceptional B movie considered for decades to be the greatest B movie ever made. If not the best, it's certainly near the top of the list. Nina Foch gives an excellent performance as Julia Ross, an unsuspecting woman who answers an ad for a job and finds herself the hostage of a deranged man and his domineering mother. George Macready and Dame May Witty make for memorable villains, sinister and creepy. The film is only sixty-five minutes long and director Joseph H. Lewis makes the most of it, keeping the film moving at a brisk pace but not rushed. This is definitely one of the 1940's films I would put on a must-see list for those interested in trying out older films.
Good, compact noir
dierregi27 October 2019
I did not know this little gem of British noir and I was pleasantly surprised by it. The Foch character is a girl who accepts a job, whose only requirement seems to be that the candidate is a lonely orphan.
However, Foch's boyfriend, whom she thought she'd lost, comes back into her life just as she is about to move in with the mysterious family who hired her.
The couple arrange for a date, but Foch disappears from London. She wakes up in a sinister Cornwall mansion and the plot takes a gothic turn.
I thought Foch overacted a bit. Also, her character seems prone to blurt out too much information to anybody. Despite this, the plot develops swiftly to the climax. The ending is a bit abrupt, with some unanswered questions (for instance: how did everyone arrived from London so quickly).
Still, an enjoyable movie.
However, Foch's boyfriend, whom she thought she'd lost, comes back into her life just as she is about to move in with the mysterious family who hired her.
The couple arrange for a date, but Foch disappears from London. She wakes up in a sinister Cornwall mansion and the plot takes a gothic turn.
I thought Foch overacted a bit. Also, her character seems prone to blurt out too much information to anybody. Despite this, the plot develops swiftly to the climax. The ending is a bit abrupt, with some unanswered questions (for instance: how did everyone arrived from London so quickly).
Still, an enjoyable movie.
Spoiler Alert
bam318631 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Not terrible, but not very satisfying at the end. I wanted to see more intrigue and double crossing by Julia. The end was too neat and tidy, and the police shooting the guy in the back, as he ran away.....awful.
Nina Foch is stunning, however. Was worth it, just to see her perform. May Witty was very good, too. Worth a look, if you like semi film noir with a Gothic British twist.
Nina Foch is stunning, however. Was worth it, just to see her perform. May Witty was very good, too. Worth a look, if you like semi film noir with a Gothic British twist.
Interesting little thriller
mls41825 May 2021
Well-done Gothic noir
OldHatCinema3 July 2019
A young British lady responds to a job ad for a secretary, only to be kidnapped, taken to Cornwall, and driven to near insanity by her new 'employers': the villainous but nonetheless endearing Dame May Whitty, and her creepy, knife-happy son.
The acting in this entertaining, delightfully old-timey film noir is very taut and accomplished. The actors do what they need to do while still being believable, instead of pushing the slightly far-fetched story dangerously close to a tongue-in-cheek parody. While the whole thing is rather improbable, the movie is still enjoyable to the point where that's easily forgiven.
The acting in this entertaining, delightfully old-timey film noir is very taut and accomplished. The actors do what they need to do while still being believable, instead of pushing the slightly far-fetched story dangerously close to a tongue-in-cheek parody. While the whole thing is rather improbable, the movie is still enjoyable to the point where that's easily forgiven.
A Ross By Any Other Name
writers_reign3 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
At sixty-five minutes this may well have provided a satisfactory 'B' picture element to a typical double bill risible though it seems today.There's a stunning opening shot of (what will turn out to be the heroine) walking away from camera in the pouring rain and had they been able to sustain that feel this may well have been one to reckon with. Alas, it loses credibility almost at once - certainly when viewed in 2010 - as Lewis crams in exposition and progression in double time so we learn that Julia Ross (Nine Foch) is broke, owes three weeks rent, has just lost a boyfriend to marriage (then, within thirty seconds learns that he couldn't go through with the wedding), sees an ad from a new employment agency in the newspapers, applies, is interviewed and hired for a live-in secretary post on the strength of the fact that she is single, no boyfriend, no parents, no friends or, to put it another way, no one is going to miss her when the new employers turn her lights out. It moves so quickly that at the time the audience wouldn't have had time to reflect on how ludicrous it was but the three leads, Foch, Dame May Witty and George MacReady are all up to snuff and seen today it makes a nice curio.
Such a good B-movie that it actually became an A picture!
planktonrules12 February 2013
"My Name is Julia Ross" is a very, very rare sort of picture. It was created with a very modest budget and cast in order to be the second, or 'B' picture at a double-feature. However, when the film was screened, people liked the film so much that at many showings, it was the premier picture! This is rather unheard of and says a lot about the story from Muriel Bolton and Anthony Gilbert--as well as the direction by Joseph H. Lewis.
The film begins with Julia (Nina Foch) looking for work. She's frustrated in her search and is excited when she sees that a new employment agency has opened. They interview her for a job and during the course of the interview, they have some strange questions--does she have any family, does she have a boyfriend and the like. Well, she can answer no to most of the questions but lies about the boyfriend part--telling them she has no one in her life. They are thrilled and offer her a job. Here's the bizarre twist. She suddenly finds herself drugged! And, she wakes up two days later in a prison-like mansion!! And, these strangers begin referring to her by another woman's name! She insists that she IS Julia Ross and demands to be set free but they treat her like she is insane. Her 'mother-in-law' (Dame May Witty) and 'husband' (George Macready) obviously have something awful in mind--but what? And, with all the neighbors having been told that she is a schizophrenic, she cannot convince any of them that she is telling the truth! What's next? See the film for yourself.
Th bottom line is that everything works well in this film--the acting, writing, direction, sets. The only negative, and it's a minor one, but back in the 1940s, Hollywood had the Production Code and according to this code, evil had to be punished so viewers know that somehow things WILL work out for good. A similar film that works even better is the 1960s French film "Diaboliquement Vôtre". Likewise a man has been kidnapped and folks work very hard to convince him he's someone else. But because there is no code to restrict the film, the ending is VERY dark and more satisfying. Still, both are exceptional films and I recommend both very highly.
The film begins with Julia (Nina Foch) looking for work. She's frustrated in her search and is excited when she sees that a new employment agency has opened. They interview her for a job and during the course of the interview, they have some strange questions--does she have any family, does she have a boyfriend and the like. Well, she can answer no to most of the questions but lies about the boyfriend part--telling them she has no one in her life. They are thrilled and offer her a job. Here's the bizarre twist. She suddenly finds herself drugged! And, she wakes up two days later in a prison-like mansion!! And, these strangers begin referring to her by another woman's name! She insists that she IS Julia Ross and demands to be set free but they treat her like she is insane. Her 'mother-in-law' (Dame May Witty) and 'husband' (George Macready) obviously have something awful in mind--but what? And, with all the neighbors having been told that she is a schizophrenic, she cannot convince any of them that she is telling the truth! What's next? See the film for yourself.
Th bottom line is that everything works well in this film--the acting, writing, direction, sets. The only negative, and it's a minor one, but back in the 1940s, Hollywood had the Production Code and according to this code, evil had to be punished so viewers know that somehow things WILL work out for good. A similar film that works even better is the 1960s French film "Diaboliquement Vôtre". Likewise a man has been kidnapped and folks work very hard to convince him he's someone else. But because there is no code to restrict the film, the ending is VERY dark and more satisfying. Still, both are exceptional films and I recommend both very highly.
Short on credibility
BatonRougeMike11 April 2019
Oh, it starts reasonably well and draws the viewer into it but as you start to see the end looming it's full of oh for Pete's sake moments, not least of all at the VERY end. I'm not going into the plot here, I'll leave that for others to mull over. Suffice it to say that the plot, such as it is, is full of holes. Interesting to see Nina Foch in a lead, she looks here kind of like Dietrich and Ann Baxter in a crossover. Interesting too to see Dame May Whitty in a non sympathetic role but it's not fully realized. No great shakes.
Exceptional "B" movie
preppy-321 April 2007
Julia Ross (Nina Foch) agrees to take a position as a secretary with the rich Hughes family to get over her boyfriend leaving her. Almost immediately she is drugged and shipped off to the family's estate in Cornwall. When she awakens they keep telling her she's Marion Hughes, has been mentally ill and keep her locked up...but why? You'll probably guess why but won't mind because this one is fun.
Along with "The Narrow Margin" and "Face Behind the Mask" this is one of the best B pictures ever made. (B pictures were low budget pictures made quickly with low budgets and no major stars). It's just as long as it needs to be (only 65 minutes), is well-directed, fast paced and exciting. It only stumbles at the end which I found a bit too implausible to buy.
Foch (a good actress) is just OK in the lead but Dame May Witty is great and George Macready is excellent (and frightening) as the villains. Well worth catching. A perfect example of how you can make a great movie on a small budget.
Along with "The Narrow Margin" and "Face Behind the Mask" this is one of the best B pictures ever made. (B pictures were low budget pictures made quickly with low budgets and no major stars). It's just as long as it needs to be (only 65 minutes), is well-directed, fast paced and exciting. It only stumbles at the end which I found a bit too implausible to buy.
Foch (a good actress) is just OK in the lead but Dame May Witty is great and George Macready is excellent (and frightening) as the villains. Well worth catching. A perfect example of how you can make a great movie on a small budget.
Woman In Jep.
rmax3048236 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
As Julia Ross, a young Nina Foch is the mostly rootless American in London who is hired by a nefarious mother and son, Dame May Witty and George Macready, as a secretary. On her first visit, she's drugged and awakens two days later in a stone mansion in Cornwall. Her clothes and ID have been destroyed and she's been given a new identity. She finds she is now Mrs. Marian Hughes, Macready's wife.
She's kept from leaving, held prisoner, in fact, and soon learns that the Hughes plan to kill her and make it look like suicide because, in fact, Macready, a madman, has already stabbed his real wife to death and disposed of her body in the sea. This leaves something of a hole in the social fabric and they're going to plug it with Foch's fake suicide.
It's a short movie. It really resembles one of the mystery radio dramas that were popular at the time of its release, with names like "The Whistler" and "Inner Sanctum." Nina Foch is a decent actress with pleasant, even features, but not a stunning beauty in the usual Hollywood tradition. She doesn't have the kind of face you want to fall into, but rather paint, or at least run your fingers over and tweak. George Macready, whatever his role, always comes across as more or less the same character -- a Prussian officer with a smooth voice and a face with a Schmiss from sabre fights in a Heidelberg gym.
Dame May Witty is much better at likable roles instead of villainy. She was most enjoyable as the lady who vanished on Hitchcock's train. Oddly, I recall the day she died, 29 May, 1948, because I have a flashbulb memory of myself in childhood reading her obit on a sunny afternoon in the New York Daily News, and wondering who she was. Now that my brain is turning into tofu, I intend leaving it for analysis to the American Culinary Institute.
The plot is pretty much by the numbers. It was remade, I think, in 1976 with Mary Steenburgen. The first time I was aware of a similar tale -- a young woman hired at an isolated estate and being passed off as someone else -- was in Conan-Doyle's "The Copper Beeches." A seasoned mystery writer could have knocked out this plot as fast as he could type. It was merely a matter of setting up the situation and then figuring out the many ways she could try convincing others that she was sane, not nuts, and how many ways she could try but fail at communicating clues to possibly helpful figures from outside her prison. I counted three important notes from her or from a friend -- notes that would have ended the mystery pronto -- that were intercepted and ripped up.
Yet, withal, it's tautly written and enjoyable if you are looking for a diversion. Happily, it's only a bit more than one hour long.
She's kept from leaving, held prisoner, in fact, and soon learns that the Hughes plan to kill her and make it look like suicide because, in fact, Macready, a madman, has already stabbed his real wife to death and disposed of her body in the sea. This leaves something of a hole in the social fabric and they're going to plug it with Foch's fake suicide.
It's a short movie. It really resembles one of the mystery radio dramas that were popular at the time of its release, with names like "The Whistler" and "Inner Sanctum." Nina Foch is a decent actress with pleasant, even features, but not a stunning beauty in the usual Hollywood tradition. She doesn't have the kind of face you want to fall into, but rather paint, or at least run your fingers over and tweak. George Macready, whatever his role, always comes across as more or less the same character -- a Prussian officer with a smooth voice and a face with a Schmiss from sabre fights in a Heidelberg gym.
Dame May Witty is much better at likable roles instead of villainy. She was most enjoyable as the lady who vanished on Hitchcock's train. Oddly, I recall the day she died, 29 May, 1948, because I have a flashbulb memory of myself in childhood reading her obit on a sunny afternoon in the New York Daily News, and wondering who she was. Now that my brain is turning into tofu, I intend leaving it for analysis to the American Culinary Institute.
The plot is pretty much by the numbers. It was remade, I think, in 1976 with Mary Steenburgen. The first time I was aware of a similar tale -- a young woman hired at an isolated estate and being passed off as someone else -- was in Conan-Doyle's "The Copper Beeches." A seasoned mystery writer could have knocked out this plot as fast as he could type. It was merely a matter of setting up the situation and then figuring out the many ways she could try convincing others that she was sane, not nuts, and how many ways she could try but fail at communicating clues to possibly helpful figures from outside her prison. I counted three important notes from her or from a friend -- notes that would have ended the mystery pronto -- that were intercepted and ripped up.
Yet, withal, it's tautly written and enjoyable if you are looking for a diversion. Happily, it's only a bit more than one hour long.
A touch of evil
TheLittleSongbird11 May 2022
The premise is of the not particularly innovative but still very interesting and potentially suspenseful kind, there are plenty of good B-films and am somebody who has always liked this genre and films with psychological character writing. The cast is a strong plus, was very intrigued in seeing Dame Way Whitty play against type and had no doubt that she would do it well. Joseph H Lewis doesn't get enough credit today in my view and many of his films are well worth watching and more, 'Gun Crazy' for example being a near classic.
'My Name is Julia Ross' turned out to be a more than worthwhile film and even a very good one. Not perfect, but it is another shamefully neglected film and like its director it doesn't get enough credit. Some may find the premise mundane on paper (not me), but somehow it is executed in a way that is more exciting and professional than it initially appears. So much more than a typical B movie. Which was a general strength actually of Lewis' films.
It is hindered a little by its budget, with moments where there is a rushed look and the sets are less than evocative.
Also thought that the ending was too abrupt and too coincidence heavy.
So much is done incredibly well. It is primarily saved from the acting, which is nothing short of excellent. Nina Foch does steel and pathos beautifully and does so without any signs of overacting, in a role that is easy to overact. She is helped though by that her character is psychologically interesting, how so is little new but the film manages to still provide a lead character that is easy to root for and generates a lot of tension in her predicaments and attempts in getting out of it. Whitty excels and is wonderfully cold against type, with a character that has a calm exterior but is pure evil on the inside. George Macready did plenty of sinister roles in his career, but he often did them very convincingly. He is very sinister here.
What is also great about 'My Name is Julia Ross' is the atmosphere. It has a lot of suspense and truly genuine dread, nothing mundane or stagy here. The story is from the very beginning very absorbing and never stops being intriguing, predictability, over-simplicity and confusion are very low on the scale. Lewis directs with a very assured and subtle touch, clearly knowing what he was doing and making the film closer to near cinematic than mediocre B movie level.
Furthermore, the script is always entertaining, hard boiled and gritty, laden with tension. There is some nice moodiness in the photography and the audio is suitably ominous when needed.
Overall, very, very good. 8/10.
'My Name is Julia Ross' turned out to be a more than worthwhile film and even a very good one. Not perfect, but it is another shamefully neglected film and like its director it doesn't get enough credit. Some may find the premise mundane on paper (not me), but somehow it is executed in a way that is more exciting and professional than it initially appears. So much more than a typical B movie. Which was a general strength actually of Lewis' films.
It is hindered a little by its budget, with moments where there is a rushed look and the sets are less than evocative.
Also thought that the ending was too abrupt and too coincidence heavy.
So much is done incredibly well. It is primarily saved from the acting, which is nothing short of excellent. Nina Foch does steel and pathos beautifully and does so without any signs of overacting, in a role that is easy to overact. She is helped though by that her character is psychologically interesting, how so is little new but the film manages to still provide a lead character that is easy to root for and generates a lot of tension in her predicaments and attempts in getting out of it. Whitty excels and is wonderfully cold against type, with a character that has a calm exterior but is pure evil on the inside. George Macready did plenty of sinister roles in his career, but he often did them very convincingly. He is very sinister here.
What is also great about 'My Name is Julia Ross' is the atmosphere. It has a lot of suspense and truly genuine dread, nothing mundane or stagy here. The story is from the very beginning very absorbing and never stops being intriguing, predictability, over-simplicity and confusion are very low on the scale. Lewis directs with a very assured and subtle touch, clearly knowing what he was doing and making the film closer to near cinematic than mediocre B movie level.
Furthermore, the script is always entertaining, hard boiled and gritty, laden with tension. There is some nice moodiness in the photography and the audio is suitably ominous when needed.
Overall, very, very good. 8/10.
Improbable, but entertaining
vincentlynch-moonoi20 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
This is a nifty little suspense film...never mind that it is somewhat improbably (all the more so since there are holes in the plot)...it's still entertaining.
It was a rather cheap B-picture, but that didn't keep one actress from shining through -- Dame May Witty as the mother who is protecting her adult son from being discovered as the murderer of his wife. To do so, they kidnap a young lady looking for a job (Nina Foch), and publicly treat her as having had a nervous breakdown, with the intent of murdering her and making it look like suicide so they can identify her body as the long-dead wife. Witty was always pretty interesting in films, and no less so here. Foch is a little less interesting, but does okay...sometimes it seems as if she is sleepwalking...but I don't mean that in terms of the plot. The son is played nastily by George Macready.
It's a rather short film, just over and hour, so it moves along at a good pace, and it makes you want to forgive the the unevenness of the script. At least until the ending, which is about as bad as any I've ever seen in a film. Still, it's an interesting suspense film which could have done extremely well with a better director. I'll give it a "7" barely, although the ending made we want to drop it to a "6".
It was a rather cheap B-picture, but that didn't keep one actress from shining through -- Dame May Witty as the mother who is protecting her adult son from being discovered as the murderer of his wife. To do so, they kidnap a young lady looking for a job (Nina Foch), and publicly treat her as having had a nervous breakdown, with the intent of murdering her and making it look like suicide so they can identify her body as the long-dead wife. Witty was always pretty interesting in films, and no less so here. Foch is a little less interesting, but does okay...sometimes it seems as if she is sleepwalking...but I don't mean that in terms of the plot. The son is played nastily by George Macready.
It's a rather short film, just over and hour, so it moves along at a good pace, and it makes you want to forgive the the unevenness of the script. At least until the ending, which is about as bad as any I've ever seen in a film. Still, it's an interesting suspense film which could have done extremely well with a better director. I'll give it a "7" barely, although the ending made we want to drop it to a "6".
Not a noir and certainly no Hitchcock
buddylove4479 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
If you are a knowledgeable film watcher who gets irrationally irritated by people calling films like this film noirs just because they are in black and white then please do not read the idiotic reviews on here. And don't read the reviews that liken it to a Hitchcock movie either, as they will annoy you too..... Hitch wouldn't have made this film even if he had a lobotomy. Julia Ross has a plot so full of holes you could drain your spaghetti in it and the heroine does such ridiculous things that you will find it maddening and very irritating. So daft is she that any sympathy that you have for her given her predicament quickly dissipates. It is impossible to believe her reaction to the vicar and friends arriving at the house or finding her at the back of the car. In fact it is impossible to buy into Foch's performance or the director's view of her performance. The ending is proposterous and the sudden shift in tone at the very very end doesnt work. Indeed, after a good opening twenty mins, much of the film doesn't work and it left me feeling very aggrieved, just like many of the reviews here.
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