Like many underrecognized treasures, David Miller's Sudden Fear fits into and defies different genres, its convention-scrambling partly the result of the fact that the film looks both forward and back.

Outside of two very short but fairly unpleasing sequences, there is not a shot in this film that isn’t necessary to its dramatic progression. Not a shot, either, that isn’t fascinating and doesn’t make us think it is a masterpiece of filmmaking.

...one of Crawford's first forays into camp.

This forgotten woman-in-distress film noir stars Joan Crawford as a rich playwright and Jack Palance as the younger actor looking to marry and off her. Nice-looking but poorly plotted.