The Upturned Glass

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Moviecut—The Upturned Glass

The Upturned Glass

In this suspenseful movie, we meet James Mason as he lectures about crime to a group of students. He is an eminent neurologist. In flashback, we learn of the girl whose eyesight he's saved. In the course of doing this, he fell in hove with her mother. It's a murder-mystery; so that's as much plot as I'll give. Pamela Mason is appropriately unappealing as the woman's nosy sister-in-law. Mason, one of my favorite actors, is very good. As a suspense movie -- a noir, of sorts -- it is excellent. It positions itself as more, unfortunately. Initially, it's intriguing to realize that the central figure in the case history Mason's reciting is himself. But there are red herrings. More distracting, there is philosophizing -- not to mention a most unsatisfactory final scene.

James Mason and Pamela Kellino were clearly eager to push boundaries and function as fully creative personnel rather than just actors. Having met whilst shooting I Met A Murderer in 1939 when Pamela Ostrer was still married to Roy Kellino, embarked on an affair and subsequently married it's more than possible that The Upturned Glass was something of an in-joke given that in the film Mason does meet Kellino's character who is, in fact, a murderer and given that Mason produced and Kellino penned the screenplay the nod to the earlier film is inescapable. It's a film that means well and its earnestness is to be applauded even if it doesn't quite come off but a definite E for Effort.

One of the earlier reviewers suggested that the film takes "the easy way out." I partially agree, but think that the real reason for the disappointing finale was the censors. They, in their moral righteousness, did their very best to ruin any number of UK and American films. In this case, the ending makes little sense. Otherwise, a very satisfying early addition to the film noir genre. The photography and pacing are perfect and carry the bleak mood. A minor quibble is that the notion of the lovers breaking off wasn't totally credible, but then, perhaps it was a different moral universe in the 1940s. Mason, as always, is excellent to the point that the viewer cannot take his eyes off of him (not that one would want to). Pamela is a hateful character, as from all reports, she was in real life.

THE UPTURNED GLASS is another interesting psychological character study from an introspective era of British cinema. Here it's the turn of James Mason as a top surgeon who begins a doomed relationship with a woman who apparently dies due to suicide. He's not about to let the matter rest, and when he discovers somebody responsible, he makes it his mission to deliver revenge. It's a slow-moving and rather atmospheric little piece that keeps you unsettled by not being sure where it's going; the ending in particular is intense. Mason gives an excellent performance of depth and subtlety and is ably supported by a game cast.

James Mason's final Gainsborough melodrama before packing his bags and leaving for Hollywood is a good-looking psychodrama produced and written by it's stars, sleekly crafted by it's director (with whom Mason had already established a good working relationship a few years earlier) and with a flavourful score by Bernard Stevens. The inscrutable title is the result of a last minute change from a film about the Brontes to a replacement retaining the title but substituting an entirely different plot.

A prominent neurosurgeon (James Mason) investigates the death of his lover (Rosamund John) in "The Upturned Glass" from 1947. Mason plays Dr. Michael Joyce, an unhappily married man. He tells his students the story of a doctor who, after helping a young girl regain her sight, falls in love with the girl's mother, Emma (Rosamund John). Her husband is away; they decide never to see one another again. Soon after, he learns that Emma has fallen out a window to her death. Michael doesn't believe it's suicide and sets out to find the killer. One way he does this is by getting close to her sister-in-law (Pamela Kellino). Kellino in reality was Mason's wife, Pamela Mason, who co-wrote an excellent script. It has the perfect British atmosphere - dark, foggy, and mysterious. Kellino's role (no surprise) is an especially good one, that of a mean-spirited, uncaring woman interested only in money. Mason is terrific. Highly recommended. An absorbing film.