Portrait in Black
7 /10 1 Votes
Director Michael Gordon Music director Frank Skinner Duration Language English | 6.8/10 IMDb Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller Cinematography Russell Metty Country United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date July 23, 1960 (1960-07-23) (Chicago) Based on the play Portrait in Black
by Ivan Goff
Ben Roberts Writer Ivan Goff (screenplay), Ben Roberts (screenplay), Ivan Goff (based upon the play by), Ben Roberts (based upon the play by) Directors Michael Gordon, David Lowell Rich Cast Lana Turner (Sheila Cabot), Anthony Quinn (Dr. David Rivera), Richard Basehart (Howard Mason), Sandra Dee (Cathy Cabot), John Saxon (Blake Richards), Ray Walston (Cobb)Similar movies Lana Turner and Burgess Meredith appear in Portrait in Black and Madame X Tagline They touched...and an evil spark was struck! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portrait in Black is a 1960 American neo-noir crime drama/thriller film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Lana Turner and Anthony Quinn. Produced by Ross Hunter, the film was based on the play of the same by name by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts who also wrote the screenplay. The film was distributed by Universal-International. This was the final film appearance by veteran actress Anna May Wong.
Contents
- Anthony quinn lana turner sandra dee portrait in black 1960
- Plot
- Cast
- Home video release
- The play
- Reception
- Radio adaptation
- References
Anthony quinn lana turner sandra dee portrait in black 1960
Plot
Sheila Cabot (Lana Turner) becomes increasingly disturbed as she cares for her ailing, disagreeable husband (Lloyd Nolan). Along the way, she falls in love with Dr. David Rivera (Anthony Quinn), who is tending her husband. This leads to a series of unfortunate events, resulting in the death of the husband and an ensuing murder investigation.
Cast
Home video release
Portrait in Black was released on DVD in Region 1 as a Lana Turner double feature with Madame X by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on February 5, 2008.
The play
The film was based on a play which premiered in London at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1946 was at Penge Empire w/c 23 September 1946 and had a short run on Broadway the following year. The writers, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, had worked on it for 13 months.
Film rights were sold almost immediately for a reported $100,000 against a sliding percentage of the gross to reach a maximum of 15% at $2.5 million. A clause was added that if a film was not released by 30 June 1950, the rights would revert to the authors and they would keep the $100,000. Diana Wynyard appeared in the London production and her husband, Carol Reed was going to direct the film version. However he disagreed with Universal about how best to adapt it. Another director, Michael Gordon, encountered similar difficulties. In 1948 Goff approached Universal to buy the project back - they said it would cost $316,00, which Goff said was too much. When the 30 June 1950 deadline passed, the project reverted to the authors. They tried to get the film financed with Michael Gordon and Joan Crawford.
Reception
According to Variety, the film earned $3,600,000 in rentals in 1960.
Radio adaptation
Portrait in Black was presented on Theatre Guild on the Air March 2, 1952. The one-hour adaptation starred Barbara Stanwyck and Richard Widmark.
References
Portrait in Black WikipediaPortrait in Black IMDb Portrait in Black themoviedb.org