The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955)
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48% of users liked it
(106 ratings)
This 1955 period piece recreates the notorious events surrounding the murder of architect Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw. This famous homicide, later immortalized in E.L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime, transpired on the Winter Garden roof in full view of countless theater patrons. Joan Collins stars… More This 1955 period piece recreates the notorious events surrounding the murder of architect Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw. This famous homicide, later immortalized in E.L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime, transpired on the Winter Garden roof in full view of countless theater patrons. Joan Collins stars as Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, a single showgirl who grows enamored with the married White (Ray Milland). He takes her to his posh Manhattan loft and enjoys a dalliance with her that includes pushing her on the red velvet swing of the title. Later, Evelyn gets courted by Harry Thaw (Farley Granger, who - after whisking her off to Europe and wheedling her into marriage - suddenly turns out to be a complete nutcase, driven around the bend by violent jealousy and rage. He grows incensed at the memory of her affair with White, and decides to to take drastic action by shooting the architect; in the wake of the murder, Thaw builds a fantastic legal defense that permanently alters his fate. Few of the facts in this tawdry soaper are true to history, because, as Bosley Crowther famously pointed out in his Times review, Evelyn Nesbit Thaw was still alive at the time of this production and the filmmakers probably feared a libel suit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Richard Fleischer
- Written By
- Walter Reisch, Charles Brackett
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 1, 1955 Wide
- Studio
- Fox
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It never caught my interest despite the juicy sensationalist story it promised to tell.
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Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide
A commentary by Aubrey Solomon that kicks in only during select scenes is one of
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Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide
Little more than a competently acted and shot costume drama, it is neither a film of the ages or for the ages; it is a film that has, however, aged, and poorly.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Ray Milland
as Stanford White
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Joan Collins
as Evelyn Nesbit Thaw
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Farley Granger
as Harry K. Thaw
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Luther Adler
as Delphin Delmas
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Glenda Farrell
as Mrs. Nesbit
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Frances Fuller
as Mrs. White
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Phillip Reed
as Robert Collier
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Gale Robbins
as Gwen Arden
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James Lorimer
as McCaleb
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John Hoyt
as William Travers Jerome
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Harvey Stephens
as Dr. Hollingshead
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Emile G. Meyer
as Greenbacher
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Richard Travis
as Charles Dana Gibson
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Harry Seymour
as Arthur
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Ainslie Pryor
as Sport Donnally
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Kay Hammond
as Nellie
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Betty Caulfield
as Alice
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Jack Raine
as Mr. Finley
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Helen Van Tuyl
as Mrs. Jennings
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Paul Glass
as Assistant Stage Manager
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Paul Power
as Van Ness
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Fred Essler
as Leopold Boerner
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Ivan Triesault
as Maitre D'
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Raymond Bailey
as Judge Fitzgerald
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Charles Tannen
as Court Clerk
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Edmund Cobb
as Judy Foreman
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James Conaty
as Rev. McEwen
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Marjorie Hellen
as Flora Dora Girl
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Diane Du Bois
as Flora Dora Girl
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Suzanne Alexander
as Flora Dora Girl
- Steven Darrell
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Edith Evanson
as Josie
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William Forrest
as Simpson
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Sam Harris
as Old Man at Show
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Stuart Holmes
as Old Man at Restaurant
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Carolee Kelly
as Margaret
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Henry Kulky
as Warden
- Leslie Parrish
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Robert F. Simon
as Stage Manager
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Cornelia Otis Skinner
as Mrs. Thaw
- Max Wagner
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Oliver Cross
as Head Steward
