the casting ( and direction ) in undercurrent be more insipid than inspire in this noir clunker that fail from the outset to get off the ground . robert taylor wooden style pose a roadblock almost immediately for the highly affected kate hepburn and it bad chemistry from the outset . naive and innocent ann hamilton ( hepburn ) fall for handsome airplane manufacturer alan garroway ( taylor ) and rush to the altar with him . she soon find out there be a lot she do not know about him . a alan become more remote she delve far into the murky past and ann soon find herself live a nightmare instead of the american dream . undercurrent resemble a few hitchcock plot but vincent minnelli rapidly establishes he be no master of suspense . hepburn be no shrink violet and she be a hard sell for a character more suited to the reticent style of teresa wright or joan fontaine . minnelli never really succeed in get kate to defer in desperate fashion to taylor limited ability a an actor . her attempt come across a silent gish while taylor wide descent into madness take on restrain bela lugosi . robert mitchum complete the miscasting a the sensitive brother . talk about pile on . cinematographer karl freund provide some highly stylize noir interior but minnelli and cast utilize the atmospherics meekly and the tension remain tepid . with minnelli far from his forte ( musical ) and hepburn victim role fit her like a bad suit undercurrent drowns all involve .