Shockproof

"He thought he was shockproof!"

1949 1h 19m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 45

RomanceCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jenny Marsh, recently released from prison for killing a man, finds herself under the watchful eye of her parole officer, Griff Marat, who helps her secure a job caring for his ailing mother.

“He thought he was shockproof!”

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Cast

Cornel Wilde
Griff Marat
Patricia Knight
Jenny Marsh
John Baragrey
Harry Wesson
Esther Minciotti
Mrs. Marat
Howard St. John
Sam Brooks
Russell Collins
Frederick Bauer
Charles Bates
Tommy Marat
Richard Benedict
'Kid', Knife Wielder (Uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Douglas Sirk
Writers: Helen Deutsch, Samuel Fuller
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Douglas Sirk, shot by Charles Lawton Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gene Havlick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight and John Baragrey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He thought he was shockproof!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0041871 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Douglas Sirk directs. Charles Lawton Jr. behind the camera. George Duning scores. Gene Havlick cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
277 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Douglas Sirk, shot by Charles Lawton Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Gene Havlick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight and John Baragrey carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He thought he was shockproof!".
8IMDB entry: tt0041871 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 45 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 30 themes, including "italian american", "release from prison", "ex-boyfriend", "fake identity".

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Lawton Jr.
Original score: George Duning
Editing: Gene Havlick
Costume design: Jean Louis
Makeup / hair: Clay Campbell
Runtime: 79 min · 1h 19m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Shockproof (1949)

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Douglas Sirk

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-07-08
★ 7/10
Give all to love obey thy heart. This Review Contains Minor Spoilers Shockproof is directed by Douglas Sirk and written by Samuel Fuller and Helen Deutsch. It stars Cornel Wilde, Patricia Knight, John Baragrey and Esther Minciotti. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr. When convicted murderess Jenny Marsh (Knight) is released into his care, parole officer Griff Marat (Wilde) literally finds his life being turned upside down... As many film noir lovers will attest too, there are a number of noir movies out there that frustrate with their endings to the point it induces anger. One such film is Shockproof, a meeting of two great film making minds undone by a studio decision so soapy and irrelevant that studio heads should have rolled post haste. I'm the one who gets spanked. Shockproof actually is a great film noir, it takes a simple honest to goodness man, introduces a classic femme fatale into his life, and before you can say "stop you fool", he's in it up to his neck. Stylistically it's top notch noir as well. Sirk and Lawton consistently have bar shadows featuring prominently, Jenny Marsh never escapes them, she may be out of prison but the parole office and latterly Harry Wesson's (Baragrey very good as her no good weasel boyfriend) hotel room consistently imprison her - and actually, Griff as it comes to pass. The Marat home is a delightful amalgamated design of art deco and the ornate. While in Wilde's hands Griff moods and smokes a lot, just as Jenny smolders and dives into his soft melancholic eyes (Wilde really does have sad eyes!). Excuse me while I push Humpty Dumpty off his wall! It's all there, for a good hour it's prime film noir, both as a story (the protags join a fine list of noir couples on the lam) and for tech skills as well, but then it all goes pear shaped. Even before you realise that Griff has suddenly abandoned his disabled mother and younger brother without so much as a goodbye, a turn of events leads to a Hollywood type ending (Deutsch brought in for the rewrite) that defies logic, belief, and something that ultimately comes off as insulting. Aaaarggghhh! Sirk and Fuller were disgusted, both wanted Fuller's original ending, and when you look into it, it would have been film noir nirvana and most fitting. A shame unbound for sure, for this is great for the most part as Wilde and Knight have genuine sparks (a real off screen romance) and Sirk, Fuller and Lawton are in sync thematically. In its fullest form it's a sad 5/10 movie, if turning off 5 minutes before the end and pretending that the couple's fate is unknown - or using our own imaginations and supplanting Fuller's originally scripted finale, then it's a mightily strong piece of film noir.

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