Nightmare

Everyone knows the dream from which you wake up convinced you've committed a murder. Here Kevin McCarthy finds evidence that suggests the nightmare was in fact reality, and brings his detective brother-in-law (Robinson) in to investigate. McCarthy's good at paranoia - remember him in Invasion of the Body Snatchers? - and Robinson is as dependable as ever as the sleuth. The story is by Cornell Woolrich, and the superb noir atmosphere is the work of cinematographer Joseph Biroc. A jumpy jazz score by Herschel Burke tightens the strings on this taut little thriller. Shane had nevertheless filmed the same story before, to greater effect, as a 1947 cheapie, Fear in the Night.