Married after a whirlwind courtship during World War II, suburban housewife Ellen Jones (Young) copes with the fact that her husband George (Barry Sullivan) is now a bedridden invalid. Increasingly paranoid and quick to anger, George is convinced that Ellen is having an affair with their old friend (and George’s physician), Dr. Ranney Grahame (Bruce Cowling).

Afraid for his life and certain that Ellen and Ranney are conspiring to kill him by overdosing his medication, George composes a letter to the local district attorney requesting an investigation in the event of his untimely death. Ellen later unwittingly mails the letter, but upon learning of its contents shortly before George dies of natural causes, she goes to every length possible to retrieve the incriminating note!

Loretta Young gives a sensational performance in Cause for Alarm! as a woman trapped in a desperate situation, with taut direction courtesy of Tay Garnett (The Postman Always Rings Twice), and a memorable musical score by composer André Previn (My Fair Lady) who was only twenty-one at the time.

Co-written and produced by Young’s then-husband Tom Lewis, who would also later produce his wife’s long-running television series “The Loretta Young Show”, Alarm co-stars Barry Sullivan and Bruce Cowling, and features Irving Bacon, Margalo Gillmore, and Art Baker.

For thoughts on Cause for Alarm!, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/iKQbOQ9vcfQ?si=ydHn41d_Rjxzvp0i&t=1170]

Video Quality

Cause for Alarm! makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to ClassicFlix with a 1080p master primarily from a restoration of 35mm duplicate negative accessed from The BFI. As the restoration text says before the film, there were four minutes of the film completely missing from this source, so the company had to scan and restore missing sections from a 16mm print. Due to this, there are a few brief downturns in quality that are quite obvious, but we have been provided with the film in its uncut form. Outside of these poorly defined moments, this transfer experiences little in the way of damage or other deficiencies besides some lingering scratches.

The black-and-white photography shot by Joseph Ruttenberg impresses in high definition with natural grain intact and resolved consistently. There is very little in the way of density fluctuations outside of a handful of softer shots. Black levels are strong with no egregious occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast holds firm with good definition. The transfer shows off a welcome amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s domestic composition. You can now especially decipher flourishes within the clothing and production design. ClassicFlix has provided the best transfer possible with the elements available.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a fine DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that has some deficiencies but holds up well considering its age. The music is the element that fares the worst when it comes to fidelity with occasional harsh inflections and distortion. A few exchanges of dialogue sound a bit hollow, but typically it sounds natural and clear. Dialogue and background noises are balanced well with all competing elements, but the narrative is never overly ambitious to put things to the test. ClassicFlix has treated this one as well as they can, and the results are largely pleasant. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Trailers: There is a two-minute trailer provided for Cause for Alarm! There are also trailers provided for Black Magic, Blonde Ice, I The Jury, The Long Wait, and T-Men.

Final Thoughts

Cause for Alarm! is a terrific suspense film that keeps the plot grounded but the tension high. Loretta Young is a striking leading lady who captures her slow psychological unraveling quite believably. The brisk pace aids this one by rarely letting up once the character gets into her untenable situation. Everything comes together for an unforgettable story. ClassicFlix has released a Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation but almost nothing in the way of special features. If you are a fan of Young or suspense films, this is worth a viewing. Recommended

Cause for Alarm! will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on January 16, 2024.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: ClassicFlix has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.