Noir City: Tension (35mm)
February 16, 2025
Audrey Totter pulls out all the stops portraying her ultimate “bad girl,” vile voluptuary Claire Quimby, in one of the most underrated noir films of the forties. Richard Basehart plays a milquetoast pharmacist married to the over-sexed and chronically unfaithful Claire. But this sad sack has a plan to get revenge.
Passes: $158 | $133 SIFF Members
Individual Tickets: Select showtime to purchase.
SIFF year-round passes and vouchers are not valid for these screenings.
Tickets
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Sunday, February 16, 2025
Note: Reserved seating is not available for Noir City.
Audrey Totter pulls out all the stops portraying her ultimate “bad girl,” vile voluptuary Claire Quimby, in one of the most underrated noir films of the forties. Richard Basehart plays a milquetoast pharmacist married to the over-sexed and chronically unfaithful Claire. But this sad sack has a plan to get revenge, so he can start a new life with his knockout neighbor, Cyd Charisse! A murder plot ensues—but the victim isn’t who we expect. Cops Barry Sullivan and William Conrad smell a rat—but is Sullivan pursuing the truth or the red-hot Totter? Despite its credulity- stretching plot, Tension is a wholly satisfying thriller, laced with acid dialogue. Note courtesy of Noir City.
- Director: John Berry
- Principal Cast: Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan
- Country: USA
- Year: 1949
- Running Time: 95 min.
- Producer: Robert Sisk
- Screenplay: Allen Rivkin, John D. Klorer
- Cinematographers: Harry Stradling
- Editors: Albert Akst
- Music: André Previn
- Filmography: A Captive in the Land (1990), ‘Round Midnight (1986), Ça va barder (1955)
- Language: English
- Format: 35mm
- US Distributor: Warner Bros.