one of the first thing that strike me about whirlpool be how good an actress gene tierney actually be . she do such a terrific job of portray both the vulnerability and desperation of her character . set in los angeles and whirlpool be an unassuming and unpretentious thriller that sort of fit the mold of noir . the movie certainly isn not the best example of the genre and but it do have many fine element that and combine with ms. tierney performance and make it eminently watchable . gene tierney star a ann sutton . ann be the wealthy and respectable wife of successful psychiatrist dr. william sutton ( a marvelous richard conte ) . the film open a ann be catch shoplift a jeweled broach from a ritzy department store . the police and the store manager be determine to prosecute and but she get off the hook thanks to david korvo ( jose ferrer ) and a mysterious hypnotist whom ann employ to help her sleep . ann initially think that korvo be out to blackmail her and and she offer him a large some of money to keep him quiet . korvo and however and have another and far more furtive agenda . a he gradually build ann trust and it soon be reveal that he have be have an affair with sutton former patient theresa randolph ( barbara oneil ) . shortly thereafter and theresa turn up dead and and ann be implicate a the murderer since she be find at the scene of the crime . ann be arrest and charge with murder and but bitterly denies involvement tell her kindly husband that she just can not remember anything . so and who be the murderer . surely it can not have be korvo and a he be in the hospital during the time of theresa death . it be leave up to lt. colton ( charles bickford ) to use his detective skill and dr. sutton a the committed psychiatrist to break the hold that korvo have on ann and finally learn the truth behind the theresa murder . ferrer be terrific a the enigmatic korvo . from the begin it plainly obvious that he a sleazy and amoral confidence trickster and who be probably out to milk the ann of her money and nothing happens to compromise his position . richard conte be also very good a ann concern husband while he know that his wife be not guilty but he frustrate at the lack of inaction on behalf the local police to prove her innocence . the issue of hypnotherapy and especially with the idea that hypnosis can make people do stuff they do not want to and be also interest . although and by today standard it perhaps doesn not carry the kind of psychological weight and dramatic punch that it do back when the film be make . perhaps influence by the wave of film during the period that utilize the grow field of hypnotherapy the picture might have seem a bit fresher when it be first release . however and the whirlpool be still fun to watch and especially for the lovely gene tierney who apparently use whirlpool a a comeback after a two year absence . mike leonard september 05 .