CAUSE FOR ALARM! (1951)

To Have And To Hold Until Paranoia Do Part

This seventy-four-minute MGM film, directed by Tay Garnett, suffered a six-figure loss at the box office. But then, it did not cost much to make. The screenplay is by Mel Dinelli and Tom Lewis with the film being produced also by Lewis, Loretta Young’s second husband. Young periodically narrates the film, sharing inner thoughts about her frightening day of the week. The film quickly unfolds with a flashback to set up the friendship between Young, Barry Sullivan, and Hollywood newcomer Bruce Cowling during WW2. Cowling is pursuing Young, but it is Sullivan who makes the biggest impression on her.

I found it difficult to ignore Young's over-the-top performance at times. Maybe she was trying too hard, aware that the film was rolling. Young seems to be the wrong actress for this paranoid character. Perhaps a “stronger” actress in the mold of Anne Baxter or Patricia Neal might have toned down the hysterics. Neither, of course, was married to the producer. Then again, here, Young is “married” to Barry Sullivan, who is also paranoid. 

Sullivan has a limited role as a bedridden patient with a scripted bad heart. He is also a little touched in the head with irrational jealousy, convinced Young and his doctor, his old Navy buddy, Cowling, are having an affair and both plotting to kill him. Sullivan goes so far as to write a detailed letter to the district attorney suggesting so. His plan is to kill her before she gets to him. He tells her his whole warped plan. But before firing a shot, he collapses from a fatal heart attack. Young’s posture and expression, wedged between the door frame and dresser (lower right image above), are straight out of a Carol Burnett show skit. She is acting so hard that it is laughable. 

It is near this point that the film is cause for alarm as hysterical Young tries to get the letter back from the postman, the always befuddled or opinionated Irving Bacon. A by-the-book postal carrier with the gift of gab about the extreme heat, his sore feet, and concerns about securing his pension. The exchanges between him and Young are good, though she is obviously rattled to the point of being ridiculous. She pleads with Bacon to give her the letter, but he cannot. It is Sullivan who wrote the letter, and he must sign for it. Bacon is more than happy to take it to him. Young bursts. He instructs her to pick up the letter at the post office. Postal Superintendent Art Baker is happy to return the letter to her. Her husband just needs to fill out a form and sign it. Her irrational behavior is a red flag to Baker, who cancels their conversation.

More bad news as Sullivan's snooty and arrogant aunt shows up at the house. Young returns from the post office to find her making herself at home. She nearly has a heart attack herself when the aunt heads upstairs to see her nephew. Young's perceived rudeness sends the aunt to her car. Young's only good news in the film is when Bacon returns to inform her that the letter could not be delivered anyway. Insufficient postage. My preferred title for the film. 

Note: There is a brief uncredited appearance by Robert Easton and his pal, Carl Switzer. Both are involved in their personal automotive maintenance program.

Adding some humor and cuteness to the film is nine-year-old Brad Marrow, as "Hoppy," a popular nickname for the Western hero Hopalong Cassidy. It is Hoppy's public service to protect the neighbors from outlaws while riding his tricycle "horse." The engaging boy is not shy about asking Young for a cookie, either.