Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Beware, My Lovely

This 1952 film noir was produced by Collier Young/Ida Lupino's movie production company The Filmakers. They also made other films like The Hitchhiker and Private Hell 36, both of which are entertaining crime films from this same period. Beware, My Lovely is a bit different. A young Robert Ryan plays an odd jobs man from back in 1918, and Ida Lupino, who runs a boardinghouse, hires him with no references. Big mistake. It is Christmas and her boarders have all left town to visit family. So, she and Ryan are the only ones left in the house. He turns out to be a schizophrenic who at times can be dangerous, even a killer as suggested in the opening scene. At other times, he's gentle and vulnerable. The film is based on a play, and all of the action is set inside the rooms at the boardinghouse. This sounds like a boring movie, but in the hands of Ryan, the film turns into something else. If you are a fan as I am of his work, you should check out his performance in this flick. Ida Lupino also holds her own. IMDb.com gives it a 6.5/10.0 rating, but that is too low in my opinion. I'd go a solid 7 based on Ryan's character.