Sleep, My Love (1948)

Though Douglas Sirk is mostly known for romantic melodramas, he did venture into other genre...including film noir.  One such example is 1948's Sleep, My Love, which stars Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings, and Don Ameche.  Another of those "wife being driven to madness" films, Sleep, My Love features Queenie Smith, Hazel Brooks, Rita Johnson, and George Coulouris in supporting roles.

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Wealthy Allison Courtland (Claudette Colbert) awakens in the sleeper car of a New York-to-Boston train, hysterical because she has no recollection of how she got there. Despite the fact that witnesses claim to have seen her in Grand Central Station before departure, Allison insists that she did not board the train and had, in fact, gone to bed in her own home.  After phoning her husband, Richard (Don Ameche), to tell him where she is, Allison boards a plane for the flight back to New York. Although panicked by the situation in which she finds herself, Allison does manage to strike up a friendship with her seat-mate, Bruce Elcott (Robert Cummings).

Richard Courtland is relieved to have his wife back home; however, after informing her that she shot him the previous evening and reminding her that she has disappeared on other occasions, he convinces her that it's time to see a psychiatrist.  Allison reluctantly agrees, and Dr. Rinehart (George Coulouris) is called in---but Dr. Rinehart isn't a doctor at all. He is actually a man in cahoots with Richard Courtland, and the plan is to drive Allison to suicide and then cash in on her wealth.  Allison's only hope lies in new friend Bruce.  Will he figure things out in time to rescue her?  How it all plays out is the balance of the film.

While solid and interesting, Sleep, My Love fell a bit short for me. Although all the leads are fine in their roles, since I had been expecting something the caliber of Gaslight, I was letdown by this.  I found Miss Colbert and Mr. Cummings to be a rather strange pairing, plus the storyline was a bit too farfetched for me.  Also, the scene with the Chinese wedding seemed rather pointless.  Still, though, I enjoyed the film and deem it a solid 3-stars.  Another 3-star Claudette Colbert "woman being driven insane" film is The Secret Fury, which pairs Miss Colbert with (the wonderful and under-rated) Robert Ryan  (reviewed HERE).

To my knowledge, Sleep, My Love is not out on DVD; however, it is available on YouTube (HERE), plus, through instant streaming on Amazon.

Happy viewing!