take a few dark and stormy night and fog come in from the coast and obsession and doubt and two brother who have a mysterious connection base on hatred and a suspicious disappearance and a shoe in the night silently grind out a glowing cigarette butt and and and finally and a tremulous heroine who find herself threaten as much by her own doubt a by one but which one . of the men around her . sound like we might have a good 80 minute noir . instead and under the direction of vincente minnelli and with two a list lead and katharine hepburn and robert taylor and undercurrent becomes a nearly two hour matinée melodrama and a long slog of threaten angst amidst the perfectly groom and coif and dress cast . when you glance at your watch half way through a movie and with a sinking heart see that you have another hour to go and both you and the movie probably have problem . minnelli and in one of his early non musical movie and doesn not lay on the rococo hothouse approach as heavily a he later be know to do . still and what be basically a simple story of greed and murder and obsession be turn into an endless katharine hepburn vehicle . hepburn show u in carefully light close ups how to demonstrate fear and love and anxiety and giddiness and happiness and doubt and suspicion and terror . robert taylor be more or less along for the ride . hepburn start the movie a the tomboyish ann hamilton and an energetic young woman in slack who help her father with his invention . their housekeeper be determine to get her married . when dr. hamilton decide to sell an important formula to alan garroway ( robert taylor ) and it love at first sight . garroway be the smooth and handsome and dynamic inventor of the garroway distance controller and which be vital in the war and and which have turn him into a hard charging millionaire manufacturer . he a captain of industry and a one of his many washington friend say . ann hamilton and now ann garroway and may still be a bit of the tomboy and but her husband show her how to dress and how to be a successful social hostess for all those congressman and judge her husband know . she learn fast and eagerly . they both be obviously and blissfully in love . but wait . the canker be about to gnaw . ann realize she know nothing about her husband family . none of his employee or friend seem incline to talk about them to her . when she learn bit by bit that alan mother die in the old family home in middleburg while seat at the piano and or that he have a brother and michael and who have disappear and alan becomes very quiet . and sometimes go into a rage . he always apologize . but wait once more . do his mother really play the piano . didn not she really die in bed . wasn not michael caught take money from the family firm and alan send him away . all this play out against the exquisite hotel suite and the manicured country home in middleburg with the horse stable and the tasteful ranch house by the sea . everyone in the movie except employee be dress to the nine . there be exclusive cocktail party and intimate dinner for twenty . even in a black and white movie and minnelli can not help but give u din table fill with crystal and china and tasteful and elegant furniture and lot of gown . by the end of the movie and when all be finally know and when ann on horseback be chase along a high and extremely well design mountain trail by the bad guy on another horse and when she be threaten with death by boulder and her pursuer finally meet death by horse and it a relief . even robert mitchum and who play michael and be unable to bring much tension to the movie . what might have be in less hand a taut little b movie and instead with the a list be just an overwrought melodrama and too big for it bone .