Plot—A polite but obscure young man gains entrée into a wealthy household by claiming he and the family's daughter are reincarnations of past lovers. He's got just enough family secrets to lend some credence to the outlandish claim.
For a psychological thriller (why else the title) the film never achieves needed menace. Frankly the role is outside actor Donahue's limited range. Here he comes across more as a blandly mixed up beach boy than anything psychopathic. Thus the narrative unfolds rather than rivets. Heatherton is okay as the object of Gunther's (Donahue) obsession; at the same time, I almost forgot my Gidget flashbacks during the beach scenes. Actually I was most impressed with the unknown Coaster as the buttoned-down attorney, Harry. His sudden turnabout in that showdown scene with Merrivale (Sullivan) is impressive. Harry goes from a passive yes-man to a razor sharp critic in a scene that is both well scripted and acted, and may very well be the film's best.
Too bad RKO of the late 40's didn't get the project first. For b&w photography, they would have known what to do with noir material like this. Here the narrative is unfortunately filmed in flat style, at the same time the direction remains largely impassive. Consider what Anthony Mann or John Brahm could have done with, say, the boyish Robert Walker of Strangers on a Train (1951) as Gunther. Perhaps that's not very fair. But considering the potential this film shows, some such comparison is irresistible. Anyway, Donahue's rather sad career again shows the hazards of Hollywood. After all, like many youngsters, his brief moment depended more on youthful good looks than on talent. Too bad he didn't transition into a post-Hollywood career or marriage as many of his peers managed to do. All in all, I prefer to remember him from A Summer Place (1959) rather than for this obscurity.
(In passing--The topic of reincarnation briefly seized public attention in 1956 when a Colorado housewife, under hypnosis, claimed to be a reincarnation of an Irish girl, Bridey Murphy, from a century earlier. Apparently, the housewife had the brogue down pat and was just convincing enough to invite serious attention. For a while, many folks were undergoing hypnosis to maybe investigate their own previous lives. Anyway, the fad soon died out, but, for better or worse, I'm reminded of it by this movie.)
