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"House On Telegraph Hill" is a fairly complicated tale of murder and greed. It starts out in a Nazi, concentration camp and ends up in a mansion on Telegraph Hill. Richard Basehart is the villain who wants to eliminate all the competition for the family fortune. Who's the competition?? An imposter from Poland who tries to pass herself off as the heir apparent's long lost mother. Enough said. This is a great, little movie. The actors are top-notch and the direction is pitch perfect. I recommend it to all, serious movie fans.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Fans of film noir and gothic mystery are in for a treat! This one was unpredictable and held my interest all the way through. The heroine was very unusual. Women in these types of films are often complete innocents (the heroine of REBECCA) or pure evil (TOO LATE FOR TEARS). But in HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL, a woman assumes her dead friend's identity and schemes to get the dead woman's inheritance. She marries a man under false pretenses. Yet her actions are perfectly understandable, even logical, under the circumstances. She is in a concentration camp with no family, no money, and no prospects. Her new identity enables her to start a new life with a husband, a son, and a mansion in San Francisco. But once there, she becomes suspicious of the little boy's governess, who is hiding secrets of her own. More complications arise when she finds herself attracted to a man who is not her husband --- and who may know her true identity. It's hard to tell who is the victim, who is the villain, and who is simply driven to less-than-scrupulous acts out of desperation. Highly recommended.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
We are suspicious of Victoria Kowelska (Valentina Cortesa) at the very beginning of this 1951 movie. It starts with her during World War II in Belsen, a Nazi Concentration Camp, where she befriends a sickly woman, Karin Dernakova. Karin is the mother of a son who was sent to the United States shortly before she was incarcerated. Victoria is Karin's true friend. But when Karin dies, Victoria sees an opportunity to emigrate to the United States and thus she assumes Karin's identity. It helps that Karin's rich Aunt Sophie in San Francisoo now has the little boy Chris. Karin (Victoria) has an obstacle when she reaches New York. Aunt Sophie has died, and now a poor, rising star cousin of the family Alan Spender (Richard Basehart) is raising Chris. Confident, Karin tells the lawyer that she will seek all justice available to pursue her "son." Afraid, Alan marries her. So in true "Rebecca" fashion, the married couple come to the House on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. And true to form, there is Margaret, Chris' governess, who resents the new wife and mother. Strange things start to happen after Karin's arrival. A nearby shed has a huge hole in the roof, and she almost falls in it. She nearly has a car accident when her brakes have misteriously malfunctioned. A scrapbook that Karen tries to look at is snatched away from her by Margaret. You will sit on the edge of your seat for the rest of this rewarding movie, which does deliver a solid punch at the end. I forgot to mention that when Victoria (Karin) is first processed after Belsen is liberated, she presents Karin's papers to Major Marc Bennett (William Lundigan). Needless to say, Major Bennett reappears in San Francisco after his release from the Army and plays a part as a lawyer in the rest of the movie. This movie was unknown to me when I saw it advertised on half.com. I took a chance and bought it for a small price. It was like a serendipity to me. I am very pleased with my purchase. You will too. Two interesting sidelines is that Valentina Cortesa met Richard Basehart while making this movie. They married and had a son together after a difficult pregnancy. She went on to make many more movies and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in "Day For Night" in 1973. Ingrid Bergman won the Oscar that year and in her speech announced that Valentina Cortesa should have won it.Read full review
This movie will not only showcase of what San Francisco area looked liked in the 50s but will also delight every classic movie aficionado's. It has all the basic ingredients of a typical noir scenario. This is as good as it gets on dvd which is not bad at all.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Good acting all around. Great background shots of 1950's San Francisco. Shows what surviving the holocaust entails, including compromising morals. Good guys and bad guys reverse rolls at the end!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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