Sudden Fear

Myra Hudson is a successful playwright who rejects actor Lester Blaine for a leading role in her new play, judging that he lacks the look of a romantic lead. When the two meet again aboard a train from New York to San Francisco, Blaine is charming rather than resentful, and the lonely Myra eventually falls in love and marries him. His intentions, however, may not be sincere, and a figure from his past complicates the marriage further.

The 1952 crime thriller was directed by David Miller, the second of the six films listed for him, following Love Happy and preceding Midnight Lace. Lenore J. Coffee and Robert Smith wrote the screenplay, and Joe Kaufmann produced. Joan Crawford stars as Myra, with Jack Palance as Lester, Gloria Grahame as Irene Neves, and supporting turns from Bruce Bennett, Virginia Huston and Mike Connors.

Released in August 1952 and running 112 minutes, the film holds a 7.5 rating on IMDb from around 8,700 votes, and a 7.2 on TMDB from a much smaller base. A critics' rating of 7.3 from 12 reviews places professional appraisal close to the audience result on IMDb.