Strange Illusion (1945): watch the full film free, legally

A modern crime film from Hamlet

Strange Illusion is a 1945 film noir directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Loosely inspired by Hamlet, it was envisioned as a modern crime film. James Lydon, Warren William and Sally Eilers star.

Lydon plays Paul Cartwright, a college student troubled by a recurrent dream. The dream leads him to suspect something sinister about Brett Curtis, the suitor of his widowed mother, Virginia Cartwright.

The Cartwright family and their circle

Warren William plays Brett Curtis, while Sally Eilers is Virginia Cartwright. Regis Toomey plays Dr. Vincent, and Charles Arnt is Professor Muhlbach.

The supporting cast includes Jayne Hazard as Dorothy Cartwright, Jimmy Clark as George, Mary McLeod as Lydia and Pierre Watkin as Armstrong. Sonia Sorel plays Miss Farber, Vic Potel plays Mac-Game Warden, and John Hamilton plays Mr. Allen.

Dreams, shadows and critical response

Noir historian Spencer Selby called the film “a stylish cheapie by the recognized master of stylish cheapies.” Dennis Schwartz found its dark psychological premise engrossing, but judged the melodrama unconvincing, the script weak and the plot full of holes. He nevertheless wrote that Ulmer shot it as an intense dream sequence in shadowy black-and-white hues.

Matthew Sorrento of Film Threat wrote that, despite the script’s “fetish for Freud,” Ulmer stylizes the thriller without sending it adrift. He called it “a shaggy quickie that takes fine shape throughout.”

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Strange Illusion”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.