The Shadow on the Window *** (1957, Philip Carey, Betty Garrett, John Drew Barrymore, Jerry Mathers) – Classic Movie Review 11,443

Director William Asher’s 1957 American Columbia Pictures black and white film noir crime thriller The Shadow on the Window stars Philip Carey [Phil Carey], Betty Garrett and John Drew Barrymore [John Barrymore Jr], with Jerry Mathers.

A young boy called Petey (Jerry Mathers) is traumatized and loses his memory as a consequence of seeing a group of young hooligans terrorize his mother Linda Atlas (Betty Garrett) and commit a murder. He escapes and is taken to police headquarters, where his policeman father, detective Tony Atlas (Philip Carey), takes on the case. The three young thugs – Jess Reber (John Drew Barrymore), Gil Ramsey (Corey Allen) and Joey Gomez (Gerald Sarracini) – are holding Linda hostage in the home of Canfield (Watson Downs), who she is working for as a stenographer.

The Shadow on the Window is an intriguing police melodrama as the cops uncover the facts of the crime and try to rescue the mother.

There is competent direction from Asher, who was later to find his true métier in making beach party B-movies: Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965).

The screenplay by Leo Townsend and David P Harmon is based on the 1954 Cosmopolitan story Missing Witness by John Hawkins and Ward Hawkins.

Also in the cast are Sam Gilman as Sgt Paul Denke, Rusty Lane as Captain McQuade, Ainslie Pryor as Dr Hodges, Paul Picerni as Bigelow, William Leslie as Stuart, Doreen Woodbury as Molly, and Ellie Kent as Girl.

It runs 76 minutes.

It is released on 6 March 1957 in the US.

Jerry Mathers in 1959.

Gerald Patrick Mathers (born June 2, 1948) is best known for his role in the TV sitcom Leave It to Beaver, broadcast from 1957 to 1963.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,443

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