Strange Fascination

I won't belabor you with plot details -- other reviewers have done that just fine.

I do disagree with most of the ratings that precede mine. Greatness here? No. But definitely watchable with two very real characters (that's scripting) and two solid performances.

I have no idea what the cost of making Strange Fascination was. It seemed low-cost but not corner-cutting. I'm no high-brow musically, I never heard of Hugo Haas and barely knew of Cleo Moore. I didn't enter with great expectations. I came away pleasantly surprised. I found a good mix of on-screen chemistry, despite the characters' wide variance in background and age.

Directors who act in their own films would probably want to be their own lawyers. (This means you, Heywood Allen.) Here, Haas comes out OK both in front of and behind the camera. Moore is appropriately attractive, as well as being effective.

Good, tight, well executed B-plus film. Worth your while. Mine, anyway.

The Czech actor Hugo Haas was a very popular film star. However, after fleeing the Third Reich he came to America and his career never reached the same heights. He mostly appeared in lower budgeted movies, though a few times he managed to do what he did in "Strange Fascination"...he directed, wrote, produced AND starred in it!

Paul (Haas) is a concert pianist who is unknown in America. Through the help of a rich American lady, he is brought to the States for a concert tour. While this works well, things start to go amiss when he falls for a trampy dancer, Margo (Cleo Moore). She is an expert at playing men and the middle-aged Paul hasn't a chance with her. Soon she is a major part of his life and he marries her. However, he isn't a rich man and is beholden to his sponsor, Diana (Mona Barrie). And, this sponsor soon abandons him when Paul makes a mess of his life. What's next in this tragic tale? Plenty!

Is this a fun film to watch? Nope. It's pretty tragic and sad. It is, however, well made I also appreciate how Moore's character is conniving but not 100% awful...and many of Paul's problems are self-created. It's not just a 'black & white' marriage. Overall an interesting character study but also a downer of a story. So, if you are feeling depressed, it's NOT a story for you!

Entertaining run of the mill 1950s b movie brightened by the beauty and charisma of Cleo Taurus Moore.

Euro pianist paul marvan (haas) is brought back to the united states by the wealthy diana fowler ( monie barrie). But marvan falls for another girl (cleo moore), and marries her, sabotaging his own career. Or at least his steady income from mrs. Fowler. And when he needs money, he comes up with a low-down, illegal scheme to raise money fast. Will it work? What will happen to them? It's a bit over the top, but probably plausible, maybe during the depression. Written and directed by hugo haas. Sometimes bad things happen when the same person writes, directs, and stars in a film. But in this case, it turned out okay! Produced by haas himself, for columbia pictures. Haas and moore made a whole bunch of films together, with very similar plots.

Good movie, but why did Hugo haas always have to play the fool, all the time? He's always playing the patsy, always with a girl young enough to be daughter or granddaughter. All of his movies have the same theme.