“I was just wondering what I’d done to deserve you.”

In Sudden Fear successful, wealthy playwright Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) sacks actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) from rehearsals for her latest Broadway play. Myra just doesn’t see Lester as the great romantic lead she’s looking for, but on a train bound for San Francisco, Lester ‘coincidentally’ meets Myra and shows her just how romantic he can be …

Myra is a great character. She’s so used to writing scripts that she mentally writes one for her life as a newlywed. Even though Myra’s close associates regard free-loading Lance with suspicion, Myra only sees what she wants to see. She scripts herself as blissfully married to the most wonderful man on the planet, and that’s how it plays out. But then Lester’s girlfriend, the slightly sleazy, Irene Neves (Gloria Grahame) pops up in San Francisco, and Myra finds out the hard way that Lester is more interested in money than anything else. Myra handles the truth by writing another script in her mind, but carrying her plans out to their inevitable conclusion is a lot tougher in real life.

Joan Crawford is spectacular in the role of Myra. She seems to visibly age as events take their toll. Several scenes focus on her wild-eyed neurotic stares, and she manages to have a few hysterical scenes into the bargain. Gloria Grahame is one of my favourite film noir actress, so it was a treat for me to see her teamed with Crawford. And Jack Palance as Lester is impressive–there are scenes in which he’s so good, it’s possible to read his mind and gauge how he wants to murder Myra. Director David Miller’s style is evident, and quite reminiscent of Midnight Lace (another husband and wife drama). The 50s San Francisco scenes are phenomenal and accentuate the plot (you’ll see why).