PART ONE
Cornell Woolrich's birthday is here again--or, rather, it will be here again tomorrow: the seminal & uniquely dread-laden noir scribe was born December 4, 1903 and had (by all accounts) a very strange & unusual life.
Today, let's chronicle the film output from around the world that partook of Woolrich's writings. We'll cover the TV material tomorrow on his actual birthday. Of all comparable writers, only Georges Simenon appears to have a lengthier filmography.
FILMS
1930s
CONVICTED (1938, dir. Leon Barsha) with Charles Quigley, Rita Hayworth, Marc Lawrence.
1940s
STREET OF CHANCE (1942, dir. Jack Hively) with Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor, Sheldon Leonard, Jerome Cowan, Frieda Inescourt
THE LEOPARD MAN (1943, dir. Jacques Tourneur) with Dennis O'Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks, Abner Biberman
PHANTOM LADY (1944, dir. Robert Siodmak) With Ella Raines, Franchot Tone, Alan Curtis, Thomas Gomez
THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER (1944, dir. William Castle) with Richard Dix, Janis Carter, Porter Hall
DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946, dir. Harold Clurman) with Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams, Joseph Calleia, Osa Massen, Lola Lane, Jerome Cowan
BLACK ANGEL (1946, dir. Roy William Neill) with Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford, Constance Dowling
THE CHASE (1946, dir. Arthur Ripley) with Robert Cummings, Steve Cochran, Michele Morgan, Peter Lorre, Lloyd Corrigan
FALL GUY (1947, dir. Reginald LeBorg) with Leo Penn, Teala Loring, Robert Armstrong
THE GUILTY (1947, dir. John Reinhardt) with Bonita Granville, Don Castle, Wally Cassell, Regis Toomey, John Litel
FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1947, dir. Maxwell Shane) with Paul Kelly, DeForest Kelley, Ann Doran, Kay Scott
THE RETURN OF THE WHISTLER (1948, dir. D. Ross Lederman) with Michael Duane, Lenore Aubert, Richard Lane
I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES (1948, dir. William Nigh) with Don Castle, Elyse Knox, Regis Toomey
NIGHT HAS A THOUAND EYES (1948, dir. John Farrow) with Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, John Lund, William Demarest, Virginia Bruce, Jerome Cowan
THE WINDOW (1949, dir. Ted Tetzlaff) with Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Ruth Roman, Paul Stewart, Bobby Driscoll
1950s
NO MAN OF HER OWN (1950, dir. Mitchell Leisen) with Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, Jane Cowl, Lyle Bettger
LA HUELLA DES UNOS LABIOS (1952, Mexico, dir. Juan Bustillo Oro) with Rosario Granados, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma, Rubén Rojo
SI MUERO ANTES DE DESPERATAR (1952, Argentina, dir. Carlos Hugo Christensen) with Néstor Zavarce, Blanca del Prado, Floren Delbene
NO ABRES NUNCA ESA PUERTA (1952, Argentine, dir. Carlos Hugo Christensen( with Angel Mangaña, Renée Domas, Nicolàs Fregues
REAR WINDOW (1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) with James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey
OBSESSION (1954, France, dir. Jean Delannoy) with Michele Morgan, Raf Vallone, Jean Gaven, Marthe Mercadier, Robert Dalban
EL OJO DE CRISTAL (1956, Spain-Mexico, dir. Antonio Santillán) with Carlos Lopez Moctezuma, Beatriz Aguirre, Armando Moreno
NIGHTMARE (1956, dir. Maxwell Shane) with Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, Connie Russell, Rhys Williams, Marian Carr
ESCAPADE (1957, France, dir. Ralph Habib) with Louis Jourdan, Dany Carrel, Roger Hanin
1960s
SHISHA TO NO KEKKON (1960, Japan, dir. Osamu Takahashi) with Tsutomo Haruyama, Chieki Higashiyama, Reiko Hitomi (version of NO MAN OF HER OWN)
BIRE ON VARDI (1963, Turkey, dir. Memduh Un) with Fatman Girik, Tamer Yigit, Huseyin Baradin (version of DEADLINE AT DAWN)
AS BAKUDAN (1964, Japan, dir. Kihachi Okamoto) with Tunosuke Ito, Fubuki Koshija, Ichiro Nakatani
DRO ITSUREBA GANTIADISAS (1965, USSR, dir, Neil Nenova & Geno Tsulaia) with Ariadna Shengelaia, Merab Tavadze, Guranda Gabunia (version of DEADLINE AT DAWN)
THE BOY CRIED MURDER (1966, UK-W.Ger-Yugoslavia, dir. George P. Breakston) with Fraser MacIntosh Veronica Hurst, Phil Brown (version of THE WINDOW)
YORU NO WANA (1967, Japan, dir Sokich Tomimoto) with Ayako Wakao, Masaya Takahashi, Masahiko Naruse (version of BLACK ANGEL)
THE BRIDE WORE BLACK (1968, France, dir. François Truffaut) with Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michel Bouquet
MISSISSIPPI MERMAID (1969, France, dir. François Truffaut) with Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Nelly Borgeaud
1970s
SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS (1972, Italy, dir. Umberto Lenzi) with Antonio Sabato, Uschi Glas, Pier Paolo Capponi, Marisa Mell
LA PUPA DEL GANGSTER (1975, Italy, dir. Giorgio Capitani) with Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Maccione
1980s
UNION CITY (1980, dir. Mark Reichert) with Dennis Lipscomb, Debbie Harry, Sam McMurray
CLOAK & DAGGER (1984, dir. Richard Frankin) with Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, Michael Murphy (version of THE WINDOW)
2000s
ORIGINAL SIN (2001, dir. Michael Cristofer) with Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie, Thomas Jane
SHE'S NO ANGEL (2002, dir. Rachel Feldman) with Tracey Gold, Kevin Dobson, Dee Wallace (version of NO MAN OF HER OWN)
******
Counting by decade, we get: 1930s--1; 1940s--14; 1950s--9, 1960s--8, 1970s--2, 1980s--2, 2000s--2.
Note that there are no theatrical films from the USA using Woolrich source materials during the 1960s, they are all foreign. That streak continues until 1980, when a trickle of US-produced theatrical films commence.
PART TWO
Here are the TV episode listings for Cornell Woolrich source materials.
It would be fantastic if Gord could annotate this list at some point and let us know what is available for viewing.
1940s
SUSPENSE "Goodbye New York" (1949, dir. Robert Stevens) with Gage Clarke, Philip Coolidge, Meg Mundy (aired 1/6/1949)
SUSPENSE "Revenge) (1949, dir. Robert Stevens) with Eddie Albert, Margo, Rex Marshall (aired 3/1/1949)
ACTOR's STUDIO "Three O'Clock" (1949) with Steven Hill, Frances Reid, Philip Bourneuf (aired 3/31/1949)
SUSPENSE "The Man Upstairs" (1949, dir. Robert Stevens) with Mildred Natwick, Anthony Ross (aired 4/5/1949)
SUSPENSE "After Dinner Story" (1949, dir. Robert Stevens) with Otto Kruger (aired 4/12/1949)
SUSPENSE "Post Mortem" (1949, dir. Robert Stevens) with Sidney Blackmer, Peggy Conklin, Richard Coogan (aired 5/10/1949)
THE SILVER THEATRE "Silent as the Grave" (1949) with Conrad Nagel, George Reeves, Marsha Hunt (aired 11/21/1949)
THE BORIS KARLOFF MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE "Three O'Clock" (1949) with Boris Karloff (aired 12/1/1949)
THE BORIS KARLOFF MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE "The Night Reveals" (1949) with Boris Karloff (aired 12/15/1949)
1950s
ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTS "The Phantom Lady" (1950, dir. Norman Felton) with Ella Raines, Edward Ashley, Allan Stevenson, Gordon Mills (aired 4/24/1950)
SUSPENSE "Nightmare" (1950, dir. Robert Stevens) with Richard Kiley, Berry Kroeger (aired 11/7/1950)
NASH AIRFLYTE THEATRE "I Won't Take a Minute" (1950, dir. Marc Daniels) with Dane Clark (aired 11/9/1950)
ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTS "Three O'Clock" (1951) with Olive Deering, Richard Greene, Vaughn Taylor (aired 6/18/1951)
MANHUNT "Through a Dead Man's Eye" (1951) with John Bargagrey (aired 7/21/1951)
ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTS "I Wouldn't Want to Be in Your Shoes" (1951) with Katherine Squire, Vaughn Taylor, Harry Townes (aired 10/22/1951)
LIGHTS OUT "Nightmare" (1952) with Joe Mantell, Mary Alice Moore, Perry Wilson (aired 6/16/1952)
REVLON MIRROR THEATER "Lullabye" (1953, dir. Felix Feist) with Agnes Moorehead, Tom Drake, Betty Lynn, Lee Marvin (aired 10/3/1953)
THE PEPSI-COLA PLAYHOUSE "Wait For Me Downstairs" (1953, dir. John English) with Arlene Dahl, Tol Avery, Virginia Brissac, Allene Roberts, Walter Sande (aired 10/9/1953)
REVLON MIRROR THEATER "Summer Dance" (1953, dir. Leslie H. Martinson) with Jane Greer, Barbara Bates, Jimmy Lydon (aired 11/21/1953)
THE MASK "Framed for Murder" (1954) with Audrey Christie, Betty Garde, Russell Hardie (aired 2/7/1954)
TV VANGUARDIA "Passos Que Sobem" (1954, Brazil) with Lia de Aguiar, Geitor de Andrade, Nedy de Oliveira, Lima Duarte (aired 4/4/1954)
YOUR PLAYTIME "Wait for Me Downstairs" (1954) with John Hudson, Allene Roberts (aired 6/20/1954)
LUX VIDEO THEATRE (1954, dir. Richard Goode) “The Chase” with Pat O'Brien, Ruth Roman, James Arness (aired 12/30/1954)
STAGE 7 "Debt of Honor" (1955, dir. Lewis R. Foster) with Edmond O'Brien, Charles Bronson, Kasey Rogers (aired 2/20/1955)
THE FORD TELEVISION THEATRE "Husband" (1955, dir. James Neilson) with Mala Powers, Barry Sullivan, Jonathan Hole (aired 10/13/1955)
THE FORD TELEVISION THEATRE "The Blue Ribbon" (1955, dir. Ted Post) with Gene Barry, Scott Brady, Stanley Adams, Marilyn Buferd, Marjorie Rambeau (aired 11/10/1955)
JANE WYMAN PRESENTS THE FIRESIDE THEATRE "Once Upon a Nightmare" (1956) with Jane Wyman, Vivi Janiss, Emile Meyer (aired 1/3/1956)
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS "The Big Switch" (1956, dir. Don Weis) with Beverly Michaels, Mark Dana, George Mathews, James Edwards (aired 1/8/1956)
FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE "The Listener" (1956, dir. Roy Kellino) with Ida Lupina, Ralph Moody, Walter Coy, Richard Lupino, Nan Boardman (aired 2/2/1956)
CLIMAX! "Sit Down With Death" (1956, dir. John Frankenheimer) with Ralph Bellamy, Vicki Cummings, Constance Ford, William Talman, Irene Tedrow, John Williams (aired 4/26/1956)
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS "Momentum" (1956, dir. Robert Stevens) with Skip Homeier, Joanne Woodward (aired 6/24/1956)
GRANDE TEATRO TUPI "Janela Indiscreta" (1956, dir. Walter Hugo Khouri) with Rita Cléos, Emanuele Corinaldi, Guilherme Corrèa (aired 9/10/1956)
LUX VIDEO THEATRE "The Guilty" (1956, dir. Norman Morgan) with Ralph Meeker, Skip Homeier, John Hoyt, Carol Ohmart, Beverly Kidd (aired 10/11/1956)
PLAYHOUSE 90 "Rendezvous in Black" (1956, dir. John Frankenheimer) with Boris Karloff, Franchot Tone, Viveca Lindfors, Laraine Day (aired 10/25/1956)
STUDIO 57 "You Take Ballistics" (1957, dir. John Brahm) with Lee Marvin, Regis Toomey, Joseph Wiseman (aired 2/13/1957)
G.E. THEATER "The Earring" (1957, dir. Jules Bricken) with Greer Garson, Eduard Franz, Barney Phillips, Norman Lloyd (aired 2/13/1957)
LUX VIDEO THEATRE "The Black Angel" (1957, dir. Norman Morgan) with John Ireland, Anne Bancroft, Glen Karame (aired 3/28/1957)
G.E. THEATER "Cab Driver" (1957, dir. Don Weis) with Harry Bartell, Imogene Coca, Keenan Wynn, Joyce Jameson (aired 4/14/1957)
THE WEB "Added Attraction" (1957, dir. Walter Doniger) with Maxin Cooper, Rory Mallinson, William Boyett (aired 8/4/1957)
THE GEORGE SANDERS MYSTERY THEATER "The Night I Died" (1957, dir. Fletcher Markle) with Scotty Beckett, Howard MCNear, Eve McVeagh (aired 8/31/1957)
SUSPICION "Four O'Clock" (1957, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) with E.G. Marshall, Nancy Kelly, Richard Long, Harry Dean Stanton (aired 9/30/1957)
SCHLITZ PLAYHOUSE "Bluebeard's Seventh Wife" (1957, dir. Paul Henreid) with Ralpy Meeker, Hugh Marlowe, Phyllis Avery, Robert Ellenstein (aired 3/21/1958)
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS "Post Mortem" (1958, dir. Arthur Hiller) with Steve Forrest, Joanna Moore, James Gregory (aired 5/18/1958)
TV TEATRO "Caça ao Campeão" (1959, Brazil) with Percy Aires, Roland Boldrin, Maria Valéria (aired 1/15/1959)
ARMCHAIR THEATRE "You'll Never See Me Again" (1959, UK, dir. Ted Post) with Ben Gazzara, Leo Genn, Brenda de Banzie (aired 8/16/1959)
1960s
MOMENT OF FEAR "Fire by Night" (1960) with Peter Mark Richman, Fay Spain, Phyllis Hill (aired 9/23/1960)
GRAN TEATRO "Pesadilla" (1960, Spain, dir. Juan Guerrero Zamora) with Valeriano Andrés, Fernando Delgado, Fernando Guillén
THRILLER "Papa Benjamin" (1961, dir. Ted Post) with John Ireland, Jeanne Bal, Robert H. Harris (aired 3/21/1961)
THRILLER "Late Date" (1961, dir. Herschel Daugherty) with Larry Pennell, Edward Platt, Jody Fair (aired 4/4/1961)
THRILLER "Guillotine" (1961, dir. Ida Lupino) with Robert Middleton, Danielle De Metz, Alejandro Rey (aired 9/26/1961)
THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR “The Black Curtain” (1962, dir. Sydney Pollack) with Richard Basehart, Lola Albright, James Farentino, Gale Kobe, Harold J. Stone (aired 11/15/1962)
TRAS LE PUERTA CERRADA (1964-65, Spain) Horror anthology series, 12 episodes devoted to Woolrich novels & stories
PRIMERA FILA "Deuda pendiente" (1965, Spain, dir. Fernando Delgado) with Valeriano Andrés, Jose Maria Escuer, Maria Luisa Merlo (aired 9/29/1965)
THEATRE D'UNE HEURE "Une incroyable histoire" (1966, dir. Jean Duams) (aired 2/6/1966)
JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN "Jane Brown's Body" (1968, UK, dir. Alan Gibson) with Stefanie Powers, David Buck Alan MacNaughtan, Sarah Lawson (aired 10/10/1968)
****
We'll look at later adaptations tomorrow as our tribute to Woolrich continues...
PART THREE
Closing out with TV movies from Woolrich's work, which begin to dominate his filmography in the 1970s.
"YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN" (1973, dir. Jeannot Swarc) with David Hartman, Jess Walton, Jane Wyatt, Ralph Meeker https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070943/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"LES YEUX QUI HURLENT" (1973, France, dir. Bernard Maigrot, with Maria Meriko. Colette Teissèdre, Jean Mondain
"MARTHA" (1974, W.Ger, dir. Rainier Werner Fassbinder, with Margit Carstensen, Karlheinz Bohm, Barbara Valentin https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070374/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"RENDEZ-VOUS EN NOIR" (1977, France, dir. Claude Grinberg), 6-episode mini-series based on "Rendezvous in Black," with Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Anouk Ferjac, Pascale Audret, Pierre Danny, Didier Haudepin, Jean Martin
"AKAI SHISEN" (1980, Japan, dir. Yasuzo Masumura & Toshiaki Kuinhara), with Momoe Yamaguchu, Tomokazu Mirua, Rentaro Mikuni (version of DEADLINE AT DAWN) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0326668/reviews?ref_=tt_urv
"SIT NA BLUDICKU" (1983, Czechoslovakia, dir. Jaroslav Dudek), with Dagmar Havlová, Jiri Kodet, Frantisek Husák
"YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN" (1986, UK, dir. Juan Luis Buñuel), with Yves Beneyton, Diana Coupland, Peter Gilmore
"I'M DANGEROUS TONIGHT" (1990, Tobe Hooper), with Anthony Perkins, Madchen Amick, Corey Parker, Daisy Hall https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099822/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"VIKNO NAVPROTI" (1991, Ukraine, Eduard Dmitriyev), with Valentias Masalskis, Albert Filozov, Vladimir Basov
FALLEN ANGELS "Murder, Obliguely" (1995, dir. Alfonso Cuaron), with Laura Dern, Alan Rickman, Diane Lane
FALLEN ANGELS "A Dime a Dance" (1995, dir. Peter Bogdanovich) with Jennifer Grey, Eric Stoltz, Richard Portnow https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0576486/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
FALLEN ANGELS "The Black Bargain" (1995, dir. Keith Gordon), with Miguel Ferrer, Lucinda Jenny, Grace Zabriskie
"DIE UNSCHULD DER KRAHEN" (1998, Germany, dir. Horst Johan Sczerba), with Joachim Kril, Nina Petri, Dieter Landuris (title translates to "The Innocence of the Crows") https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166007/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"REAR WINDOW" (1998, dir. Jeff Bleckner), with Christopher Reeve, Daryl Hannah, Robert Forster (read the reviews if you dare!) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166322/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
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