Sleep, My Love

The great Douglas Sirk (Magnificent Obsession) directed the third and final teaming of Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche, they first appeared together in Mitchell Leisen's Midnight and later in Sam Wood's The Guest Wife. This Hitchcockian thriller casts Colbert as Alison Courtland, a wealthy New York socialite who awakens on a Boston-bound train with no memory of how she got there. A kind, elderly woman helps Alison call her husband Richard (Ameche), who in the meantime had contacted Detective Sgt. Strake (Raymond Burr, TV's Perry Mason) to help him find his missing wife. On the plane back home, Alison meets Bruce Elcott (Robert Cummings, The Devil and Miss Jones), who's immediately enamored with her. Upon Alison's return, Richard urges her to consult a psychiatrist, but the doctor's bizarre behavior and abusive manner nearly drives Alison mad. Is she really losing her mind or is there an elaborate scheme at play? This classic film noir features wonderful atmospheric cinematography by Joseph A. Valentine (Shadow of a Doubt, Saboteur) and stylish art direction by William Ferrari (Adam's Rib). Co-starring the Beautiful Hazel Brooks (Body and Soul).