Shockproof (1949)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Lost Parolee

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Samuel Fuller received one of his first full "screenplay" credits (alongside Helen Deutsch) on Shockproof (1949). Oddly, the director was Douglas Sirk, who would go on to a successful career as a masterful maker of full-color "women's pictures" or "weepies" (pretty much the exact opposite of Fuller's career). In the black-and-white Shockproof, a beautiful murderess, Jenny Marsh (Patricia Knight) is released on parole. Her parole officer Griff Marat (Cornel Wilde) tries his best to turn her life around, which includes getting her to stop seeing her no-good boyfriend and benefactor Harry (John Baragrey). To keep her safe, he brings her to his own home and hires her to look after his blind mother (Esther Minciotti). Of course, they fall in love and begin a downward spiral that threatens them both. In his own way, Sirk was as good a director as Fuller; here he emphasizes the complex, intense emotions of the lead characters, which helps guide the film over some of its plot hurdles.

[See also The Samuel Fuller Collection.]