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Nora Prentiss

  • 1947
  • Approved
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Ann Sheridan and Kent Smith in Nora Prentiss (1947)
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2 Videos
68 Photos
Film NoirDrama

A doctor spins an ever-growing web of lies after a taste of the excitement that he was missing in his conventional life, thanks to a chance meeting with a nightclub singer.A doctor spins an ever-growing web of lies after a taste of the excitement that he was missing in his conventional life, thanks to a chance meeting with a nightclub singer.A doctor spins an ever-growing web of lies after a taste of the excitement that he was missing in his conventional life, thanks to a chance meeting with a nightclub singer.

  • Director
    • Vincent Sherman
  • Writers
    • N. Richard Nash
    • Paul Webster
    • Jack Sobell
  • Stars
    • Ann Sheridan
    • Kent Smith
    • Bruce Bennett
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Vincent Sherman
    • Writers
      • N. Richard Nash
      • Paul Webster
      • Jack Sobell
    • Stars
      • Ann Sheridan
      • Kent Smith
      • Bruce Bennett
    • 71User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

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    Trailer 2:36
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    Trailer 2:36
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    Trailer 2:36
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    Photos68

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    Top cast67

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    Ann Sheridan
    Ann Sheridan
    • Nora Prentiss
    Kent Smith
    Kent Smith
    • Dr. Richard Talbot
    Bruce Bennett
    Bruce Bennett
    • Dr. Joel Merriam
    Robert Alda
    Robert Alda
    • Phil Dinardo
    Rosemary DeCamp
    Rosemary DeCamp
    • Lucy Talbot
    John Ridgely
    John Ridgely
    • Walter Bailey
    Robert Arthur
    Robert Arthur
    • Gregory Talbot
    Wanda Hendrix
    Wanda Hendrix
    • Bonita Talbot
    Helen Brown
    • Miss Judson
    Rory Mallinson
    Rory Mallinson
    • Fleming
    Harry Shannon
    Harry Shannon
    • Police Lieutenant
    James Flavin
    James Flavin
    • District Attorney
    Douglas Kennedy
    Douglas Kennedy
    • Doctor
    Don McGuire
    Don McGuire
    • Truck Driver
    Clifton Young
    Clifton Young
    • Policeman
    John Alvin
    John Alvin
    • San Francisco Bay Ferry Boat Dispatcher
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Jerry Baulch
    • Newspaper Man
    • (uncredited)
    Brooks Benedict
    Brooks Benedict
    • Patron at Dinardo's
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Vincent Sherman
    • Writers
      • N. Richard Nash
      • Paul Webster
      • Jack Sobell
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews71

    7.12.3K
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    Featured reviews

    9Randy_D

    Would You Keep Your Mouth Shut...?

    Ann Sheridan gives an effective performance as the title character who has not had much luck when it comes to love. Unfortunately her luck only gets worse.

    Kent Smith's character Dr. Talbot completely turns his life inside out and upside down in order to be with Ann Sheridan. (If there is anyone worth turning your life inside out for, it's Ann Sheridan ;-).

    A worthy entry in the Film Noir canon, Nora Prentiss reveals two characters desperate to find happiness...but at what cost?

    This film also has one of my favorite lines from a movie poster:

    Would You Keep Your Mouth Shut If You Were Nora Prentiss?
    7gbill-74877

    Ann Sheridan is wonderful

    A shy family man (Kent Smith) meets a sultry but classy nightclub singer (Ann Sheridan), and despite the man's lovely wife (Rosemary DeCamp) and two sweet kids, he soon begins having an affair. It's a pretty standard set up, but the strength of the film is in its first hour, where we see the tension between family and lover, get shots on location in San Francisco from James Wong Howe, and enjoy strong performances from the cast.

    Sheridan especially is delightful, with the perfect mix of flirtation and principles, romance and world-weariness. At one point she tells the doctor that "I may not have been handled with care, but I'm not shopworn," meaning she's been around and had lovers, but she's not easy. Seeing her perform her first number in a flouncy little sheer top, and warbling lines like "As long as he desires his arms about me, who cares what people say?" between a few tears in her second is wonderful; I love her voice. Her hats are pretty wild too, especially late in the film.

    The film has a softness to it for a noir, but that's something I kind of liked, and there's certainly darkness in just how quickly the family man begins forgetting his own kids. There's another man involved (Robert Alda, Alan's father), which adds an interesting wrinkle. Unfortunately, however, the film scuttles itself with a ludicrous ending. The final 15 minutes defy belief and the film tries to put a happy face on them besides, both of which were mistakes, which dropped my rating a bit. It's still enjoyable though, and if for nothing else, watch it for Ann Sheridan.
    7BaronBl00d

    "I'm Willing to Die Remembering This"

    Awfully frank thriller about a chance meeting between a doctor working late one night and a singer who gets a bad scrape in a minor accident hooking up into a extra-marital(for the doctor) relationship that heads South in a hurry. Kent Smith, the male lead from Cat People and Curse of the Cat People, plays Dr. Talbot rather nicely I thought. He portrays a man who has worked hard his whole life and sacrificed his "life" for his job and family. Ann Sheridan plays the genuinely nice singer who appeals to the doctor not only because of her beauty but her ability to see him for who and what he is. She does a phenomenal job in what really is a complex role. The rest of the cast is pretty decent. Bruce Bennett may come off miscast as a doctor, but Robert Alda as a night club owner and Rosemary DeCamp as Talbot's wife both excel. While not really a mystery - or a very ingenious one as we know what is going on early on, this picture really depicts what at once seems quite harmless and its transformation into something very harmful. Director Vincent Sherman is more than adequate behind the camera. Some might say this really isn't film noir - I can see some of their points - but this is noir all the way for me: the suggestive black and white cinematography, the voice-over narrator, the man being changed by the "dame," and the ending that is bittersweet. The biggest problem with Nora Prentiss is the title. Ann Sheridan was the box office grab - and this grabbed a lot of tickets - but she is not the star of the movie nor is her character the central character. Kent Smith is the star and a more appropriate title should have been selected. Hmmm...maybe, "The Cheating Surgeon" or "The Doomed Affair." Definitely needs more thought!
    7brogmiller

    Ailments of the heart.

    Dr. Richard Talbot's teenage daughter runs to the kitchen window one morning and joyfully declares "It's Spring. Something's stirring." Later, when the good doctor is applying a bandage to the injured knee of a shapely chanteuse named Nora Prentiss, we are left in little doubt as to what that 'something' is!

    This film is yet another variant on the theme of 'amour fou' which is capable of raising one to the heights and dragging one to the depths. As this tragic but highly implausible tale unfolds, credibilty is stretched to the utmost but Vincent Sherman somehow succeeds in covering most of the plotholes. Mr. Sherman is an extremely capable director and he is fortunate here to have Anton Grot's production design, the evocative cinematography of James Wong Howe and Franz Waxman's dramatic score.

    It is customary to dismiss actor Kent Smith as being rather bland but he surprised me in this and engages our sympathy as the hapless doctor whose slow descent into the abyss is painful to behold. Suffice to say this is essentially a vehicle for Ann Sheridan whose role was expanded by order of Jack Warner. What can one say of Miss Sheridan? She combined oodles of 'oomph' with what one critic has described as 'no nonsense pragmatism.' She left us far too early but is still here thanks to the magic of film.
    9Emaisie39

    The "Oomph Girl" at her Warner Brothers Peak!

    The forgotten Warner Brothers melodrama "Nora Prentiss" was one of the biggest hits of Ann Sheridan's career. Finely directed by Vincent Sherman who guided Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in several hit films, this is a sad, haunting yet somehow realistic story about a married doctor (a great performance by Kent Smith) who fatefully bumps into a nightclub singer (Sheridan) and soon falls madly in love with her. His illicit love of Sheridan leads to his downfall. Some may find the plot a bit contrived but an excellent script and the superb heartfelt performances of Sheridan and Smith make it work beautifully. THe ending is quite a knockout.

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    Related interests

    Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep (1946)
    Film Noir
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sheilah Graham reported that Ann Sheridan had an infection in one ear during production, and during the final shots of the film, could only be photographed from one side.
    • Goofs
      When the surgeons are washing up for an operation, before gloves, the elder surgeon touches the door before going inside the surgery room, which would break sterility.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Richard Talbot: [finishing her bandage] There, it doesn't look bad.

      Nora Prentiss: The bandage or the leg?

      Dr. Richard Talbot: Young lady, I...

      Nora Prentiss: Can't you decide, doctor?

      Dr. Richard Talbot: Well, I made the bandage. I didn't make the leg.

      [Nora laughs]

    • Connections
      Edited into The Green Fog (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Would You Like a Souvenir?
      Music by M.K. Jerome

      Lyrics by Jack Scholl and Eddie Cherkose

      Performed by Ann Sheridan

      [Nora sings the song during her act]

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 22, 1947 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La sentencia
    • Filming locations
      • The Embarcadero, San Francisco, California, USA(outside ferry building)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 51m(111 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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