Strange Illusion

Strange Illusion is a 1945 American film noir directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. According to noir historian Spencer Selby the film is, A stylish cheapie by the recognized master of stylish cheapies.

Film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, yet liked the atmospherics of the film, and wrote, The dark psychological thriller had an engrossing premise courtesy of Mr. Shakespeare and was influenced further by Freudian dream analysis, but it was unconvincing as a melodrama, the script was weak, the plot was full of holes and the acting was as lame as it gets...Whats interesting is that the film is shot as an intense dream sequence in shadowy blackandwhite hues and its sense of delirium powerfully filters through the story almost wiping away the unconvincing heavyhanded performances of the villains and the mummified acting by the leads. Its a film where Ulmers unique style and his film noir moody interjections work better than the deviative mystery story.Critic Matthew Sorrento of Film Threat also lauded the film Though saddled with the scripts fetish for Freud, Ulmer stylizes his thriller without sending it adrift. Like his other great films, Strange Illusion is a shaggy quickie that takes fine shape throughout. ........

Source: Wikipedia