Where to watch Tension online

Storyline

Warren Quimby manages a drugstore while trying to keep his volatile wife, Claire, happy. However, when Claire leaves him for a liquor store salesman, Warren can no longer bear it. He decides to assume a new identity in order to murder his wife's lover without leaving a trace. Along the way, his plans are complicated by an attractive neighbor, as well as a shocking discovery that opens up a new world of doubts and accusations.

Released

1949-11-25
Revenue

n/a
Budget

n/a
Runtime

1hr 35m
Genre

Thriller, Crime
Status

Released
Language

English
0
Production

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Crew

John Berry

Director

Allen Rivkin

Screenplay

Robert Sisk

Producer

Keywords:

drugstore film noir murder homicide detective

Stream and watch Tension

similar movies

See No Evil

Very Bad Things

Killer's Kiss

House of Wax

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Fallen

Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller

The Nameless

The Bone Collector

Runaway

Bully

Sand Trap

The Good Shepherd

Cut

The Honeymoon Killers

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Cry_Wolf

The Return

Cast

Richard Basehart

Warren Quimby

Audrey Totter

Claire Quimby

Cyd Charisse

Mary Chanler

Barry Sullivan

Lt. Collier Bonnabel

Lloyd Gough

Barney Deager

Tom D'Andrea

Freddie, Coast to Coast Counter Man

William Conrad

Lt. Edgar Gonsales

Tito Renaldo

Narco, Deager's Valet

Virginia Brissac

Mrs. Andrews (uncredited)

Theresa Harris

Woman in Drugstore (uncredited)

Ray Bennett

Theatre Manager (uncredited)

Peter Brocco

Balew (uncredited)

John Indrisano

Boxer Handler (uncredited)

Philip Van Zandt

Police Lt. Schiavone (uncredited)

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for Tension

A Review by John Chard 7

Written by John Chard on 2013-12-19

The Clark Kent Conundrum. Tension is directed by John Berry and adapted to screenplay by Allen Rivkin from a story by John D. Klorer. It... read more

The Clark Kent Conundrum. Tension is directed by John Berry and adapted to screenplay by Allen Rivkin from a story by John D. Klorer. It stars Richard Baseheart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Gough and William Conrad. Music is by Andre Previn and cinematography by Harry Stradling. Tight and compact noir pot boiler that finds Baseheart as a drugstore manager married to bitch babe Totter. Planning to do away with her lover, Baseheart is stumped when someone beats him to it. But he of course is still the main suspect, so creating a new identity for himself he sets about trying to unravel the mystery before hard coppers Sullivan and Conrad jump on him from a great height. Totter files in for classic femme fatale duties as Tension thrives on the post-war period of change as many Americans yearned for a better life away from the disillusionment of their current existence. Baseheart is the classic sap, dreaming of some picket fence nirvana with his vixen wife, only to have his illusions shattered by her callous clambering for the finer things in life, including a more alpha male suitor in the imposing form of Lloyd Gough. But wait! Baseheart has some brains, he has ideas above his station to commit the perfect crime, but inventing a new identity, which is basically just using contact lenses instead of glasses, it opens up a new avenue for him in the shapely form of Cyd Charisse. Rivkin’s screenplay gives Totter licence to bitch up big time, with abuse of her sultry charms and a viper tongue delivering barbs, Totter’s Claire Quimby is very much a quintessential femme fatale and subsequently Totter walks away with the movie. Elsewhere isn’t bad though, it’s a roll call of stoic noir performers, from Sullivan’s hard-nosed detective and Conrad’s doughnut twirling menace, to Gough’s looming presence and Charisse’s vulnerable beauty, it’s a very well cast picture. Sealing the deal is Berry’s unfussy direction, Stradling’s atmospheric photography and Previn’s musical score that puts the tense in Tension. Some of it’s daft, such as the Clark Kent line of character invention, and you don’t have to be a genius to know who committed the foul deed, but this is a good un’ for sure. 7/10

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)

A Review by John Chard

A Review by John Chard 7

Written by John Chard on 2013-12-19

The Clark Kent Conundrum. Tension is directed by John Berry and adapted to screenplay by Allen Rivkin from a story by John D. Klorer. It stars Richard Baseheart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry...