Main Cast: James Mason, Rosamund John, Pamela Kellino, Jane Hylton, Morland Graham, Ann Stephens
Release Year: 1947
Country: UK
Run Time: 89 minutes
Plot
James Mason stars in The Upturned Glass as a prosperous British brain surgeon. Mason saves Rosamund John's daughter from blindness, whereupon the married John falls in love with the doctor. The illicit lovers conduct a passionate affair while John's husband is out of the country. When John dies mysteriously, Mason suspects that the culprit is his own jealous sister-in-law Pamela Kellino (Mason's real-life wife at the time). Acting on his suspicions, Mason murders Kellino, stuffs her body in the trunk of his car, and drives to parts unknown to dispose of the corpse. Before he is able to do this, Mason is called to the home of a dying child. Despite the risk of being exposed as a murderer, Mason leaves his car unattended to rush to the side of the stricken child. The film doesn't end very happily for Mason, but he is mildly comforted by the fact that he has remained loyal to the Hippocratic oath. Upturned Glass is a virtual compendium of late-1940s British melodramatic devices: tortured hero, well-planned crime, moonlight-drenched photography, lengthy flashbacks, quasi-classical music score, and the rest of the repertoire. The film was coproduced by James Mason, and cowritten by Mason's wife and costar Pamela Kellino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A strange and uneven psychological thriller clearly inspired by Spellbound, The Upturned Glass has its flaws but is worth watching, especially to fans of the genre. One of Glass's flaws is the fact that it slips out of its grounding in reality on several occasions. For example, the bulk of the film is a flashback narrated by a doctor to a criminology class; it's not especially realistic that this doctor would be qualified to teach such a class, but more crucially, the doctor is revealing details about himself (however much he may claim it's about another) which tip his hand to his future illegal plans. Had this been set up as a way of showing that the doctor was not in his right mind, it might possible have worked, but there is no such set up. Pacing is also a flaw, as the first two-thirds of the film don't propel the story along at the desired pace; however, the final third makes up for this and is quite gripping (if still lacking in credibility). Helping to mask the film's flaws is the flawless performance of James Mason. Intense yet able to lay back with the best of them, Mason's turn is a marvelous mix of "star" performance and carefully calibrated, nuanced dramatic acting. The supporting cast is quite good as well, and while Lawrence Huntington's direction overall is uneven, when he's on, he does very good work here. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Brefni O'Rourke - Dr. Farrell; Henry Oscar - Coroner; Howard Douglas - Lorry Driver; Maurice Denham - Mobile Policeman; Helen Burls - Farm Laborer's Wife; Cyril Chamberlain - Junior Doctor; Lynn Evans - County Policeman; George Merritt; Susan Shaw - Student; Beatrice Varley - Injured Girl's Mother; Margaret Withers - Party Guest; Peter Cotes - Questioner; Janet Burnell - Sylvia; Nuna Davey - Mrs. Deva; Sheila Huntington; Glyn Rowland - Policeman; John Stone - Male Student
Credit
Andrew Mazzei - Art Director, Lawrence Huntington - Director, Alan Osbigton - Editor, Muir Mathieson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Reginald Wyer - Cinematographer, Sydney Box - Producer, James Mason - Producer, Pamela Kellino - Screenwriter, John P. Monaghan - Short Story Author
