The Arnelo Affair

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The Arnelo Affair
Arnelo affair poster 1947.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Arch Oboler
Produced by Jerry Bresler
Screenplay by Arch Oboler
Based on the short-story
"I'll Tell My Husband"
by Jane Burr
Starring John Hodiak
George Murphy
Frances Gifford
Dean Stockwell
Music by George Bassman
Cinematography Charles Salerno Jr.
Edited by Harry Komer
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
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  • February 13, 1947 (1947-02-13) (United States)
Running time
86 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $892,000[1]
Box office $838,000[1]

The Arnelo Affair is a 1947 American dramatic film co-written and directed by Arch Oboler and featuring John Hodiak, George Murphy, Frances Gifford and Dean Stockwell.[2]

Plot

A lawyer's wife (Frances Gifford) begins an affair with a nightclub owner Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak). Soon her compact is found near the body of Arnelo's other girlfriend, and she finds herself blackmailed and implicated in murder.

Cast

Reception

The film earned $524,000 in the US and Canada and $314,000 elsewhere. Although MGM records do not state whether the film was profitable, the cost of $892,000 makes it likely it incurred a loss.[1]

Critical response

Film critic Bosley Crowther panned the film. He wrote, "And childish it is, beyond question, despite the promising' presence in the cast of John Hodiak, Frances Gifford, George Murphy and other minor 'names.' It's a 'stream of consciousness' fable about a lawyer's neglected wife who takes up with a night-club owner and gets into a most embarrassing jam. It is unmercifully slow and sombre and utterly devoid of surprise."[3]

Variety magazine was more positive. The staff wrote, "Arch Oboler, radio’s master of suspense, has effectively transposed his technique into the visual medium with The Arnelo Affair. Strictly speaking this is not a whodunit, nor can it be catalogued as a psychological suspense picture ... There’s never a question as to who committed the murder, but the crime is secondary to its effect on the characters involved. Until the film’s very climax, no hint is given to the ultimate denouement. Dialogue instills the feeling of action where none exists for much of the footage, and the gab is excellent but for a couple of spots when Oboler gives vent to florid passages."[4]

References

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  2. The Arnelo Affair at the American Film Institute Catalog.
  3. Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, September 13, 1947. Accessed: August 11, 2013.
  4. Variety. Staff film review, 1947. Accessed: August 11, 2013.

External links