The Whole Truth (1958) User Reviews

Nicely twisted UK noir

[gordonl56 · 7/10 · 1 February 2008]

Stewart Granger plays a film producer making a film in the south of France. Causing him no end of trouble on his production is the film's female star, Gianna Maria Canale. Canale is loud, obnoxious and a pain in everyone's ass. She is also having a fling with Stewart while his wife, Donna Reed was off in England. Granger pleads with Canale to behave herself and get the film finished. She responds with a bit of blackmail, continue the affair or she will tell Granger's wife. What is he to do? That night while Granger is having a party, George Sanders puts in an appearance. He introduces himself as a police inspector and informs Granger that Canale has been found murdered. Does Granger know anything about it? "No, No not a thing!" Sanders leaves and Granger jumps in his car and roars off to make sure that he left nothing at their love-nest. He returns to the party and who should appear but Canale, alive and well. What the hell is going on? It seems that Canale is Sanders wife, and now Sanders plans a little payback. Of course Canale does get murdered and Granger is the number one suspect. There are plenty of red herrings, twists and turns and the like in this one. Great back and forth between Sanders and Granger. Good time-waster.

(b/w)

Okay whodunit

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 26 July 2009]

Stewart Granger looks for "The Whole Truth" in this 1958 film also starring Donna Reed, George Sanders, and Gianna Maria Canale. The exotic Canale plays the star of producer Granger's film. He once had an affair with her when his wife (Reed) briefly left him. It's over, but she wants to start it up again. At man (Sanders) visits Granger posing as a Scotland Yard detective and informs him that his star is dead. Except she's not - she shows up at a party at Sanders' house. He drives her home, leaves the car, and when he returns to it, she is indeed dead. Granger must then prove that he was framed.

This film is a little disjointed. It has some neat twists and is told with some humor, but somehow, it doesn't hang together. Reed, normally quite good, isn't much of a presence. The rest of the acting is better. Granger is very believable as a producer, and we've seen George Sanders do elegant sinister many times. I actually enjoyed Canale the most. She kind of reminded me of Gina Lollabrigida.

A Very Average Thriller

[howardmorley · 5/10 · 26 June 2012]

I rated this film 5/10 as it was no more than par for the course.The minute George Sanders appeared, I knew he was going to play another suave sophisticated villain as he has played in so many other films.Donna Reed must have been disappointed with her rather anodyne part and Stewart Granger does his best with the dialogue in the mediocre screenplay.

As far as I was concerned, the star of the film was the 1958 white Jaguar XK3 sports car.A few location shots around the south of France were seen but the rest was obviously shot in a film studio.The most farcical shot was a so called "car chase" that seemed to be wholly and claustrophobically shot on the film set where the cars seemed to be going round in circles around the artificial buildings!

A wounded cad

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 15 July 2013]

Though leading man Stewart Granger has occasionally played the heel in a few films, the greatest screen cad of all George Sanders dominates this film playing a very wounded cad. He's a publisher of religious textbooks married to that most unlikely of mates, the voluptuous movie star Gianna Marie Canale who has used her feminine wiles to get to the top of the film business. Her latest conquest is producer Stewart Granger who is a bit down in the mouth since wife Donna Reed left him.

The Whole Truth has Sanders planning a most methodical revenge against his wife and against Granger whom he sees as the pinnacle of all the men Canale cheated on him with. Sanders gives an academy award winning performance, even better than the Oscar winning one he got for All About Eve with the French police.

Though The Whole Truth is far from All About Eve it's a decent enough thriller with Hollywood's greatest cad dominating the proceedings.

what goes on behind the scenes

[RanchoTuVu · 7/10 · 15 July 2013]

A film producer accused of murdering the leading lady of his latest project must acquit himself and save his marriage. Stewart Granger was more than apt at the part of the producer and his relationship with Donna Reed (who plays the part of his wife) is full of fairly intelligent dialogue. George Sanders' character as the actual killer of the leading lady, who had totally humiliated him with her numerous affairs, makes convincing sense as the plot unfolds of an older man confronted with a marriage that's only evidence of matrimony was the worthless piece of paper the marriage certificate was written on. The ending is a bit of a stretch, but there are a lot of nice interior shots of the jet set enjoying a swanky party on the French Riviera where the story takes place.

The 45 Year Old Stewart Granger

[Single-Black-Male · 4 November 2003]

It's a pity that Granger wasn't teamed up against George Sanders in the same way that he was against James Mason. I think their standoff would have made a good fight sequence in a swashbuckler like 'Moonfleet'.

A good yarn, but disposable after the first watch.

Slick, well-made mystery movie

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 3 August 2014]

Smoothly directed by John Guillermin (who, 20 years later, would helm my favorite Agatha Christie film adaptation, "Death On The Nile") and intelligently acted by a capable cast (including sultry Italian star Gianna Maria Canale), "The Whole Truth" is a slick, well-made mystery movie. It's not, however, a whodunit, like its poster claims; we learn who the killer is early on. It's more of a cat-and-mouse game between the killer and the hero. Nevertheless, there are quite a few surprising plot developments. Also of note is the lively, jazzy music score by Johnny Dankworth and Lambert Williamson. Not a great film, but one that deserves to be better known. **1/2 out of 4.

"Wronged man" thriller in the Hitchcock mould

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 12 July 2018]

THE WHOLE TRUTH is a solid Hollywood thriller in the Hitchcockian mould; namely it's a "wronged man" story with Stewart Granger at his charismatic/stressed out best as a womaniser whose latest conquest leads to disaster. This UK/USA co-production takes an awful long time to get going, trading on the charms of Italian starlet Gianna Maria Canale for a long while until the real plot kicks in. At that point we get a George Sanders at his most sinister, a great chase sequence, and the right level of suspense as Granger tries to extricate himself from an increasingly desperate situation.

mostly good. some weirdness near the end

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 28 November 2023]

The whole truth. The 1958 one. Stewart granger, donna reed, george sanders. Married but separated max poulton (granger) has been enjoying the company of his leading lady gina (giana canale) while out of town, working on a film. But when he tells gina it's over, she gets angry. Then carliss from scotland yard shows up, asking questions. About gina's murder. And then, a very drunk gina shows up! And she hasn't been murdered. So what is this carliss pulling? And when things get crazy, now carliss is telling a completely different story. What's going on ? Can max convince the coppers that he had no part in any of this? We feel the suspense and anguish that poulton is going through, as the police lock him up. It's pretty good. Kind of a silly bit right at the very end, but it all works. Based on the play by philip mackie. He won the bafta for court martial. Directed by john guillerman. He had also directed the 78 version of death on the nile, and towering inferno!

Murder Among the Jet Set

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 1 October 2019]

A rather tawdry murder mystery set among film makers in the South of France (although the principals plainly never left Walton-on-Thames), directed for all its worth by a young John Guillermin (later described by Granger as "peculiarly lacking in charm, to say the least") from a screenplay by film noir veteran Jonathan Latimer from a play by Philip Mackie, with gothic photography by Wilkie Cooper and suitably trashy musical accompaniment by Mischa Spoliansky (performed on the soundtrack by Johnny Dankworth).

It's good to see female lead Donna Reed play a more active role in the proceedings than one is accustomed to, while George Sanders also looks less bored than usual during this period in his life.

The Whole Truth- George Sanders at It Again! **

[edwagreen · 5/10 · 3 July 2008]

This film is quite similar to the George Sanders flick of 1954, "Witness to Murder." Again, Sanders is a murderer who is trying to drive everyone batty. This time, his victim is Stewart Granger, who he nicely frames for the killing of his Italian actress wife. The beginning scenes show this wife as a screaming, hot tempered woman in the same vain as the late Anna Magnani.

Donna Reed plays Granger's wife. It appears that she is willing to at first believe that Granger had committed the murder. He was romantically involved with Sanders' wife. Reed is much more subdued in this film. Was she preparing for her kindly the Donna Reed television show on television? She lacks the fire that won her the supporting Oscar as Montgomery Clift's girl friend in the magnificent "From Here to Eternity."

Great little late 50s thriller

[principessacavallino · 8/10 · 5 July 2008]

"The Whole Truth" breaks a number of murder mystery conventions, making it pleasantly unpredictable. It's almost Hitchcockian (in the lighthearted vein of "Rear Window"), with a good measure of humor, suspense, and romance.

While the film may lack megastars, its cast's performances are faultless. George Sanders is at his oily best in the film as Mr. Carliss, while Stewart Granger is a worthy leading man. Its brisk pace is complimented by a fantastic, upbeat jazz score, more typical of '60s spy films. Its aesthetic sense --cinematography, set direction-- isn't particularly fabulous, and it fails to capture the beauty of its French Riviera setting, but that fortunately doesn't detract from the delightfully suspenseful story.

Ultimately it's a fun bit of suspenseful entertainment --not iconic but definitely worth watching.

Weak murder yarn wastes everybody in the cast...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 3 July 2008]

Once again GEORGE SANDERS is a cad who tries to set up STEWART GRANGER for the murder of Sander's unfaithful wife. DONNA REED is the pretty female lead, Stewart's loving wife, who cannot believe Granger is capable of murder and stands by him, for the most part, during the proceedings.

All of it is given stylish B&W photography, posh settings, a fairly interesting jazz score for the background music, and a couple of intriguing twists--but nothing really puts it over as anything more than a below average thriller. A feeling of deju vu sets in not long after the opening credits with Granger intent on proving himself an innocent man framed for murder.

DONNA REED almost sleepwalks through the role of the good wife, never blinking more than an eyelash at whatever revelations are being made about her husband's conduct. STEWART GRANGER handles his role with his usual authority and skill and GEORGE SANDERS is competent enough as the scheming killer.

But ultimately, it's a time waster, with nothing new to offer in the realm of suspense.

Little suspense in low budget thriller

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 28 August 2018]

The fact that this film was made at Walton studios is a clear indication of the limited budget.Some of the exterior sets are so small it makes it look as if it was filmed in a bathroom.All the main leads were on their way down,though there is always pleasure in seeing Sanders.The problem though is there is little suspense and the ending is predictable.Not one of the better efforts from Romulus. It has the feel of honouring contractual commitments.

Such a clever mystery.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 3 May 2023]

Film Producer Max Poulton is having an affair with his leading lady, the hot tempered beauty, Gina Bertini. During a party one night, Max is visited by a man named Carliss, who claims to be from CID, and explains that Gina had been murdered, Gina later pops up at the party, what possible reason could Carliss have for lying?

Before I give an opnio, I'll start by saying I adore mysteries from the fifties and sixties, especially those from Durbridge, Hitchcock and Wallace, this is very much a film in their style. Expect suspense and intrigue, and several scenes to leave you scratching your head.

I really enjoyed it, a slick and stylish mystery, considering the amazing cast it doesn't particularly feel high budget, but the story and acting more than make up for it. It's is beautifully filmed, there is also some wonderful location work to enjoy. I even enjoyed the accompanying music, it fits the film well.

After a fast paced, exciting opening, the mystery really does begin, there are so many curious occurrences, but it's well plotted, and ultimately it's very satisfying.

I was mainly looking forward to seeing Stewart Grainger, and he's excellent, but the film was stolen by George Sanders. The whole cast do a fine job, the scene in The Cafe where Poulton learns from Carliss exactly what's going on is great.

8/10.

A top thriller!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 10 June 2018]

Directed by JOHN GUILLERMIN. Screenplay by Jonathan Latimer. From the play by Philip Mackie. Assistant director: Ronald Spencer. Director of photography: Wilkie Cooper. Art director: Tony Masters. Film editor: Gerry Hambling. Production manager: Jack Hicks. Camera operator: Hughie Wilson. Set continuity: Yvonne Richards. Sound recordists: F. Ryan, Bob Jones, John Aldred. Sound editor: Teddy Darvas. Make-up: Roy Ashton. Hairdresser: Bill Griffiths. Wardrobe supervisor: Bridget Sellers. Music composed by Mischa Spoliansky; conducted by Lambert Williamson; played by Johnny Dankworth and His Orchestra. Produced by Jack Clayton. A Romulus Film. A Columbia Picture.

A Romulus Production. London trade show: June 1958. No New York opening. U.S. release through Columbia: September 1958. U.K. release through Columbia: 3 August 1958. Australian release: 7 May 1959. 86 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: An American film producer is accused of murdering his star. Setting: the French Riviera.

COMMENT: Crisp thriller screen-played by Jonathan Latimer (who worked with director John Farrow on such classics as The Big Clock, Beyond Glory, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Alias Nick Beal, Plunder of the Sun, etc., and also authored interesting mystery novels on his own account, featuring private detective Bill Crane) with an interesting movie-making background on the French Riviera.

Splendid performances by the principals and taut, inventive direction by John Guillerman keep the viewer almost constantly on the edge of his or her seat. Production credits are first-rate.

The whole truth

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 7 February 2023]

Max Poulton (Stewart Granger) is a movie producer working on the French Riviera and having a tempestuous affair with his leading lady, Gina (Gianna Maria Canale). Max considers coming clean to his faithful wife, Carol (Donna Reed), but a mysterious man named Carliss (George Sanders), a detective from Scotland Yard, informs Max that Gina has been murdered. When Gina shows up to Carol's party alive, and then is murdered hours later, Max believes he has been set up by Carliss, who now claims that he was Gina's husband and not a detective.

A slick and stylish whodunit with many twists and turns stars Stewart Granger who is quite debonair and convincing as a film producer who is framed for the murder of an actress he once had a fling with. She threatens to reveal this to his wife. But of course, she gets stabbed, but not before George Sanders, in a typical slimy cad role, appears, kickstarting a cat and mouse situation. From the beginning, THE WHOLE TRUTH proves to be quite a compelling thriller, and it's a great to see Granger and Sanders play off against each other. Gianna Maria Canale as the vamp-like actress is really good in her role, and Donna Reed does well, too.