In this variation on the Jekyll and Hyde story, a composer has sporadic episodes where his subconscious takes over and he has no recollections of his actions during these lapses when he comes to. This film reunites Cregar and Sanders with director Brahm from "The Lodger" the previous year, and, like the earlier film, it is visually opulent but the story is less than compelling. Cregar gives perhaps his best performance in this, his final film before his untimely death at age 31 just as he was coming into his own. Darnell, who would also die young, is a sensuous presence as the object of his obsession. Herrmann provides an impressive score, including a piano concerto used in the finale.

This is an above average thriller with a great cast. On the heels of THE LODGER using the same era and sets, HANGOVER SQUARE delivers some good chills and thrills without all the bloodshed like in todays movies of the same ilk. The one problem with the film is the short run time of 77 minutes. Seems like a lot has been left out and seems a bit disjointed at times. Laird Creger and Linda Darnell stand out among the cast. He superbly plays the "mad" composer with proper aplomb, and Darnell is great as a greedy and manipulative actress who is doomed. SPOILER ALERT: An ironic note is that her dead body is burned as in real life she also died in a fire. A bit eerie. Try to view both THE LODGER and HANGOVER SQUARE as a double bill.

George (Laird Cregar) is a young composer who is working on a concerto. At the same time, he's had trouble with strange blackouts....and one lasted 24 hours! During this time, he had no idea what he did nor where he was and he's worried that he might have done something criminal during this latest blackout. This is because he found a knife in his pocket and a man had just been murdered. The police doctor (George Sanders) checks into it and insists that George wasn't responsible for the killing...or at least that there is no evidence he did it. However, the man sees that George is under extreme stress and he suggests George go out an have some fun and take a break from his work.

During this break, George goes into a cheap musical hall and soon is captivated by a lovely but black-hearted singer, Netta (Linda Darnell). She soon convinces him to write music for her and she pretends that she's in love with him. For some time, she strings him along with promises and lies until eventually he learns that she's been dating another man and is planning on marrying him! What's next? And, will there be further blackouts?

This is a very good but sad film to watch...sad because Cregar lost a lot of weight for this role...so much that it, combined with amphetamines, killed him at age 30. It's a real shame, as he's good in the film and it would have been his breakout role...moving from supporting villains to a leading man.

You can tell that this is a quality production for Twentieth Century-Fox. The music is lovely and extremely high quality, the street set is pretty amazing and the story is well directed and well written. I particularly like the Guy Fawkes Day bonfire scene as well as the fire at the end...so creepy. Well worth your time. My only complaint is that I think the film might have been even better had George's actions during the blackouts been more vague up until the end.