Brisk suspense movie that holds the attention - even if the baddie does seem rather obvious from early on in the proceedings.Directors today are a lot more sophisticated than they were when 'talkies' became a thing... and that's not always a good thing. Often the director's fingerprints are all over a good story and they just serve to dilute the narrative, not make it better.So; for old folk like me, it's a nice change to see scenes blend simply together, no silly timeline confusion and best of all - every camera is firmly attached to a tripod!The Madonna's Secret follows the life of a tortured artist as he faces accusations of multiple murders. His beautiful models seem to meet with unfortunate endings and the cops all think they point to the painter.Perhaps they do, as he hears voices, has bad dreams and forgets chunks of his life. Perhaps they don't as there are circumstances that point to other culprits... Most of you won't have to wait till the end to find out as the more perceptive will see the guilty party telegraphed before you, long before the players do!With that said, it's still a good fun ride buoyed by a really good cast of actors even in the minor roles. Will Wright is a treat doing what he does best... crusty old geezer down by the river! (You'll recognize the face as he was in every movie made in the 40s and every TV show made in the 50s!) And there are endless other similar cameos to put names to in this yarn.Worth a watch.. and right now it's free on YouTube!

James Harlan Corbin is an artist with a troubled temperament. Unfortunately several models whom he has painted have been murdered. Has he done them in or is there another explanation and what is the significance of the painting called 'The Madonna's Secret? The actual significance is that it gives the ending away early if one thinks about it. This is a fair mystery story but no more. There are noirish elements but on the whole it is more a melodrama.Frances Lederer is suitably tortured as Corbin and John Litel his usual reliable self as the police lieutenant. There is a fine trio of actresses in Gail Patrick, Ann Rutherford and Linda Stirling but their parts are underwritten. They deserved more meaty roles. The cinematography by John Alton is great, giving it a look that makes one surprised it is a Republic picture. It never rises above being a B picture though despite the fine photography and the fine cast.

This film noir started out on a rather interesting note, as a theater critic becomes fascinated with the model in a painting and tries to track her down. The central mystery involves the mysterious death of the model of a brooding painter, but I can't say the ending was any sort of surprise.The problem is that once the story gets going, it just doesn't have much to do. This 90-minute movie could have been cut to an hour without losing anything. The movie also suffers from indifferent dialog and plotting (one key character disappears entirely about halfway through the film).It's a pretty nice looking movie and the acting isn't bad, but it just lacks anything to set it above any other B movie.

Not sure if this strictly a noir film as it runs as a mystery as well. Some evidences of film noir would be the dramatic cinematography, a character that is somewhat of a Femme Fatale, a feeling of hopelessness in the current status quo, and of course, the criminal element that pervades most scenes. Against it being noir would be that this film is not about the average man, but a well to do artist. Also, the fate angle doesn't seem quite pronounced here. The acting is great throughout with special kudos for Francis Lederer and his creepy accent. The cinematography is uniformly superb. Of course, any film shot by John Alton is special. This is a rare film and currently only shown at film festivals. Hopefully it will show up on DVD someday.