vampyrate
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Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
This is a place to discuss Robert Newton's performance as Dr. Clive Riordan in 1949's Obsession (released in America as The Hidden Room, based on the novel Man About a Dog, a.k.a. Over the Line by Alec Coppel ... along with other aspects of the film, comparisons to the book, etc.
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"It's all rather stylish and pretty and rather worrying" --Timothy Spall on his costume in Sweeney Todd
"He must have been fun." --Emlyn Williams (liner notes from "Emlyn Williams as Dylan Thomas in 'A Boy Growing Up'")
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10/21/2006, 5:50 pm
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Jenny30
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
This movie seriously freaked me out. At first I was on Riordan's side, but as the film progressed I changed my mind. The last straw was...well, I don't want to give the plot away for those who haven't seen it, but it involved the dog!
RN as always gave a great performance as Dr. Riordan, a psychiatrist who suffered from a severe superiority complex!
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Jenny
"Let floods o'erswell, and fiends for food howl on!" Ancient Pistol.
Henry V - Act II, Scene I
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11/11/2007, 9:03 pm
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vampyrate
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
Yes, Jenny, exactly how I felt about him, and for the same reason.
Spoiler alert:
I also found him quite terrifying when describing how to dispose of a body ... It was down Bob's acting, of course, but that feeling was greatly enhanced by the lighting--in most films, you can keep telling yourself, "It's only Robert Newton; he wouldn't reallyhurt you," but he didn't even look like himself in that scene!
On the comforting side though, watch him closely when he's actually carrying the dog. What he's saying and threatening to do is quite scary, which effectively diverts your attention away from how gentle he's really being with little Monty.
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"It's all rather stylish and pretty and rather worrying" --Timothy Spall on his costume in Sweeney Todd
"He must have been fun." --Emlyn Williams (liner notes from "Emlyn Williams as Dylan Thomas in 'A Boy Growing Up'")
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11/12/2007, 12:16 am
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Jenny30
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
vampyrate wrote:
quote:
On the comforting side though, watch him closely when he's actually carrying the dog. What he's saying and threatening to do is quite scary, which effectively diverts your attention away from how gentle he's really being with little Monty.
You're right, Sue. Again, some great acting!
Little Monty was so cute. I love the scene in Riordan's office when he picks Monty up. If you listen closely, he giggles as he bends down to pick up the cute little dog. I think it's safe to say that that's the only tender moment of the entire film! 
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Jenny
"Let floods o'erswell, and fiends for food howl on!" Ancient Pistol.
Henry V - Act II, Scene I
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11/12/2007, 8:51 am
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RICKY RICARDO
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
he's so evil in this one, I LOVE him!!!!
i get the title "The hidden Room" but I don't get calling it "Obsession", what's obsessed about it?
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1/5/2008, 11:02 am
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SMG01
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
Riordan's obsessed! He's obsessed with getting even with his wife by executing his elaborate plan (I don't want to say too much for people who have not seen the movie yet). He even explains his plan to Bill in the movie. And if you think that the dear doctor is bad in the movie, you should read the book. He's appalling! For those interested, the book is called 'Over The Line' and the author is Alec Coppel. It may be a little hard to find, because it is now out of print, but you can get it from a used book dealer. I know that we discussed this in a much earlier topic (like a couple of years ago) because I remember mentioning the three titles associated with this story: Obsession, The Hidden Room, and Over The Line (you can see where that came from, right?).
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1/5/2008, 6:47 pm
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vampyrate
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
quote:
SMG01 wrote:
For those interested, the book is called 'Over The Line' and the author is Alec Coppel.
And just to make it even more confusing (but possibly easier to find since it gives you more options), the book has an alternate title too: Man About a Dog.
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"It's all rather stylish and pretty and rather worrying" --Timothy Spall on his costume in Sweeney Todd
"He must have been fun." --Emlyn Williams (liner notes from "Emlyn Williams as Dylan Thomas in 'A Boy Growing Up'")
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1/5/2008, 10:35 pm
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RICKY RICARDO
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
yeah, i get calling it "Over The Line", he has gone FAR over it!
Susan, I love you avatar. I didn't even realize that was Timothy Spall until I saw his name on it, it doesn't look much like him at all.
I'll see if I can find the book somewhere, it sounds really good!
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1/6/2008, 12:22 am
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SMG01
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
quote:
'And just to make it even more confusing (but possibly easier to find since it gives you more options), the book has an alternate title too: Man About a Dog.'
Yeah, I forgot about that one. That makes two titles for the movie and two for the book. Whew!!!
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1/6/2008, 9:59 pm
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vampyrate
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Re: Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
I always wondered why they had to have two titles for everything back then! Maybe the author just couldn't make up his mind! 
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"It's all rather stylish and pretty and rather worrying" --Timothy Spall on his costume in Sweeney Todd
"He must have been fun." --Emlyn Williams (liner notes from "Emlyn Williams as Dylan Thomas in 'A Boy Growing Up'")
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1/6/2008, 10:06 pm
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