Interesting movie about magic, hypnosis and jealousy.

A director of some repute, he starred in a series of grade Z potboilers in the forties that, like this film, didn't cut the "mustard". A director of silents of some repute, he couldn't act his own way out of a paper bag.Nice Jewish boy from the old country, he married and dallied about half dozen times and died in relative obscurity. His directing, was much better than his acting, is how he's remembered, plus notoriety in his part in the 1950Jeanne Bates had a totally undistinguishable acting career from her student days at San Mateo Junior College, appearing on radio soap operas in San Francisco. She played the lead in an airwave mystery series, Lew X. Lansworth's "Whodunit" (Bates' scream was the show's "signature"), which caused her to move to Hollywood in 1941. Bates and Lansworth married in 1943. They stayed married for all recording, for the rest of his long life. My most salient memory is her playing the ancient Mommy crone in "Mulholland Drive". That and Niomi Watts topless scene. I can't tell which.Eddie Sloan, resident doctor of the enviable grey hair, was noted for his many supporting Universal roles from Dracula to Dracula's daughter, and the Mummy to Bride of Frankenstein. In spite of Karloffs ancient makeup, Sloan was the oldest looking 48 year old on the block. Track his appearance against George Clooney, or especially Tom Cruise same age, and the wonders of plastic surgery rear their head, however sophisticated even in the thirties. Witness the renovation of Cary Grant's nose if you don't believe me.Enjoy this dreck, it was one of the first to be released on TV 65 years ago.Williams the lead, died three years after this film of cancer. He was 38.

This film requires too much suspension of disbelief, but not necessarily in the area of hypnosis. First off, we are expected to believe that this young, vivacious girl would actually marry Erich von Stroheim's cold-fish character, and secondly, we are asked to believe that this character, who appeared to have zero personality and absolutely no charm could have actually been a very popular stage Magician. The only thing I really enjoyed was seeing Edward Van Sloan (Dracula's, Van Helsing) in a rather light-hearted role although small.