Mansão da Loucura

What could have been a great "old dark house" kind of thriller is instead a tepid melodrama hampered by a rambling script with a not-too- believable twist and a weak ending. On the plus side, it gives Barbara Stanwyck a chance to play the kind of feisty woman we like to root for--especially when she's climbing athletically over rooftops and down dumbwaiter chutes in order to get to the roots of a family mystery. Errol Flynn, still handsome in tweed jacket and smoking a pipe, lends distinction to a poorly written role. But in his confrontation scenes with Stanwyck she comes out the winner--full of fire and fury while he remains bland and aloof. Geraldine Brooks excels as Errol's tormented niece who believes her uncle is up to something sinister. A big help is Franz Waxman's strong background music that creates the right note of suspense. Richard Basehart is wasted in a small, poorly written role that gives him no substance at all. Despite all the flaws, an interesting and absorbing mystery to watch on a rainy day if only for the sheer pleasure of watching Stanwyck race around in pursuit of the truth. The solution, as noted before, is a letdown and the ending much too abrupt. Ah well, you can't have everything...