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The Man with a Cloak
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The Man with a Cloak
The Man with a Cloak is a 1951 American film noir drama film directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern and Leslie Caron. The screenplay is based on "The Gentleman from Paris", a short story by John Dickson Carr.
Young Frenchwoman Madeline Minot arrives in New York in 1848, seeking expatriate Charles Thevenet. She is initially rejected at the door by his mistress and housekeeper Lorna Bounty, but she persists, presenting Charles with a letter of introduction from his only grandson Paul, a romantic revolutionary who Madeline loves.
Charles is an old and wealthy rake who correctly guesses Madeline's purpose in visiting him. She has been sent by Paul to ask him for money to support the revolution in France. Assisted by hulking butler Martin and cook Mrs. Flynn, who also want Charles' fortune, having waited for him to die for ten years, Lorna allows Charles to drink as much as he wants, contrary to the instructions of Dr. Roland, and replaces some prescribed medicine.
Madeline has one ally, a chance acquaintance named Dupin, a heavy-drinking impecunious poet, to whom she turns when she suspects that Charles' medicine has been laced with poison. They take a sample to a pharmacist, who determines that it has no poison in it but that the medicine has been substituted with sugar water. Dupin becomes acquainted with Lorna and recognizes her as a former actress who achieved fame with Charles' backing.
Madeline softens Charles' heart and he summons his lawyer Durand to amend his will. He secretly mixes arsenic into his drink, ready to end his life. However, he suffers a stroke that paralyzes him, leaving him with only partial control of his face. He watches helplessly as Durand drinks the fatal brandy. Charles' pet raven snatches the will and hides it in the fireplace. Before the Charles dies, he tries to communicate the location of the will to Dupin solely with his eyes.
Lorna guesses that there is a new will, and after the funeral, she and her accomplices search desperately for it without success. Dupin is more perceptive; from the clues, he finds and retrieves the document, although he must fight Martin to escape the house alive. When the will is read, it reveals that Paul inherits the money, and Lorna, Martin and Mrs. Flynn are left only the house.
Madeline seeks Dupin to thank him. His bartender Flaherty informs her that he has departed, leaving only a seemingly worthless IOU for his sizable bar bill. On one side is a draft of a verse about a woman named Annabel Lee, and on the other, Dupin's real name: Edgar Allan Poe.
Director Fletcher Markle originally wanted Marlene Dietrich for the role of the scheming mistress and Lionel Barrymore for the ailing millionaire. However, Barrymore was too ill and Dietrich declined, with her role awarded to Barbara Stanwyck. During filming, Stanwyck was experiencing difficult divorce with actor husband Robert Taylor.[citation needed]
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The Man with a Cloak
The Man with a Cloak is a 1951 American film noir drama film directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern and Leslie Caron. The screenplay is based on "The Gentleman from Paris", a short story by John Dickson Carr.
Young Frenchwoman Madeline Minot arrives in New York in 1848, seeking expatriate Charles Thevenet. She is initially rejected at the door by his mistress and housekeeper Lorna Bounty, but she persists, presenting Charles with a letter of introduction from his only grandson Paul, a romantic revolutionary who Madeline loves.
Charles is an old and wealthy rake who correctly guesses Madeline's purpose in visiting him. She has been sent by Paul to ask him for money to support the revolution in France. Assisted by hulking butler Martin and cook Mrs. Flynn, who also want Charles' fortune, having waited for him to die for ten years, Lorna allows Charles to drink as much as he wants, contrary to the instructions of Dr. Roland, and replaces some prescribed medicine.
Madeline has one ally, a chance acquaintance named Dupin, a heavy-drinking impecunious poet, to whom she turns when she suspects that Charles' medicine has been laced with poison. They take a sample to a pharmacist, who determines that it has no poison in it but that the medicine has been substituted with sugar water. Dupin becomes acquainted with Lorna and recognizes her as a former actress who achieved fame with Charles' backing.
Madeline softens Charles' heart and he summons his lawyer Durand to amend his will. He secretly mixes arsenic into his drink, ready to end his life. However, he suffers a stroke that paralyzes him, leaving him with only partial control of his face. He watches helplessly as Durand drinks the fatal brandy. Charles' pet raven snatches the will and hides it in the fireplace. Before the Charles dies, he tries to communicate the location of the will to Dupin solely with his eyes.
Lorna guesses that there is a new will, and after the funeral, she and her accomplices search desperately for it without success. Dupin is more perceptive; from the clues, he finds and retrieves the document, although he must fight Martin to escape the house alive. When the will is read, it reveals that Paul inherits the money, and Lorna, Martin and Mrs. Flynn are left only the house.
Madeline seeks Dupin to thank him. His bartender Flaherty informs her that he has departed, leaving only a seemingly worthless IOU for his sizable bar bill. On one side is a draft of a verse about a woman named Annabel Lee, and on the other, Dupin's real name: Edgar Allan Poe.
Director Fletcher Markle originally wanted Marlene Dietrich for the role of the scheming mistress and Lionel Barrymore for the ailing millionaire. However, Barrymore was too ill and Dietrich declined, with her role awarded to Barbara Stanwyck. During filming, Stanwyck was experiencing difficult divorce with actor husband Robert Taylor.[citation needed]