Shock

"He never dreamed what it would all lead to...and she didn't care !"

1946 1h 10m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 68

ThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In this thriller, psychiatrist Dr. Cross kills his wife and expects to get away with murder, until he discovers that the slaying was observed by a next-door neighbor, Janet Stewart. As Janet attempts to convince her husband of the doctor's dastardly deed, Cross shows up to advise him that Janet is in dire need of some in-depth counseling.

“He never dreamed what it would all lead to...and she didn't care !”

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Cast

Vincent Price
Richard Cross
Lynn Bari
Elaine Jordan
Frank Latimore
Paul Stewart
Anabel Shaw
Janet Stewart
Stephen Dunne
Dr. Stevens
Reed Hadley
O'Neill
Renee Carson
Miss Hatfield
Charles Trowbridge
Franklin Harvey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfred L. Werker
Writers: Eugene Ling, Albert DeMond
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 70-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfred L. Werker, shot by Joseph MacDonald. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vincent Price and Lynn Bari and Frank Latimore carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He never dreamed what it would all lead to...and she didn't care !".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfred L. Werker directs. Joseph MacDonald behind the camera. David Buttolph scores. Harmon Jones cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 70-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
380 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Alfred L. Werker, shot by Joseph MacDonald. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by David Buttolph. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Harmon Jones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Vincent Price and Lynn Bari and Frank Latimore carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "He never dreamed what it would all lead to...and she didn't care !".
9IMDB entry: tt0038937 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 13 themes, including "infidelity", "amnesia", "nurse", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph MacDonald
Original score: David Buttolph
Editing: Harmon Jones
Costume design: Kay Nelson
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye
Runtime: 70 min · 1h 10m
Status: Released
Budget: $375,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Shock (1946)

Also by

Alfred L. Werker

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-04-03
★ 4/10
Shock to the heart but Vinnie's not to blame. Janet Stewert, whilst waiting to meet her returning from World War II husband, Paul, witnesses a murder. Stricken with shock, Janet is hospitalised and placed in the care of of noted psychiatrist Dr. Cross. Trouble is, is that it was Dr. Cross who committed the murder! Vincent Price (Dr. Cross) was of course synonymous with the horror genre. A real classy actor whose ability sometimes gets forgotten due to his participation in the murder death kill part of cinematic lore. Here in this low level "B" movie we find Price the sole reason for sitting through the picture to the end. For although the premise is as solid as it gets, and the setting is ripe for dark deed like shenanigans, Shock is immeasurably dull. Director Alfred L. Werker and his screenplay writer Eugene Ling, adapt Albert DeMond's story with the clear intention of crafting a potboiler. But sadly, in spite of Price's efforts, they forgot to turn the heat up! Full of drawn out musings that get repeated throughout, the film also feels like it's going round in circles. It's tolerable in the main because the story at least has the viewer intrigued as to the outcome, but come the tepid finale one is left with a feeling of being cheated out of a promised ignition of fuel. As for the rest of the cast? Lynn Bari gives the only other performance of note, but it's a by the by character and nothing for her to get her teeth into. While a couple of moody scenes at the sanitarium do at least perk up the plodding story, particularly one during a thunder storm. But they are but mere false dawns. Thankfully only running at 70 minutes, Shock doesn't take too much out of ones' life. But really it's one for Vincent Price completists only, and ultimately the film stands as a very wasted opportunity. 4/10
CinemaSerf2022-07-07
★ 6/10
Vincent Price stars in his first headlining role as the nasty "Dr. Richard Cross" who accidentally kills his wife in the lounge with a candlestick. One of his patients - Anabel Shaw ("Janet Stewart") is roused from her drugged state by the sound of their argument and witnesses the crime. As he discovers that she knows; he - aided by his lover Lynn Bari ("Nurse Elaine") commits her to his sanitarium where they try all sorts of ways of keeping her quiet before the inquisitive police discover the truth. As an indicator of what we might come to expect from Price, it's a good B-noir. The performances are decent, as is the script and given we have all the information about the crime from the outset, it is quite suspenseful - a good score from David Buttolph and a cracking thunderstorm see to that.