On H List of Movie Reviews
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The House on Carroll Street (1987)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
12/12
12/12:
If Emily Crane was found in contempt of court, then why didn't she go to jail?
That's what I was thinking the entire time while watching The House on Carroll Street. I have no idea, either, if she's
a communist. Instead, I'm taken for a tedious ride to unravel the mystery that will obviously reveal the identity
of the Nazi war criminals who escaped from Germany. But hey, is it an old story already? Even the poor German exchange
student who was stabbed in the stomach is forgotten after a while because nobody cares.
The idea of an FBI agent willing to help a communist is extremely unlikely. Even more so is he falling in love with her for
who-knows-what-reasons and then going along with her in the chase. While at it, he insouciantly tracks an alleged bank robber
and then returns to the girl in a matter of seconds. Hey, is it supposed to be a common practice for two FBI agents to
tag-team while on surveillance for many days?
Also, think about it: how is it possible that Emily finds luck by spotting the place that houses Nazi war
criminals and then connecting it to the senator? Eventually, Miss Daisy is written off after Emily breaks into the
suspicious house. On the other hand, Mandy Patinkin's senatorial character with the shined-up short hair would've had Emily
killed to make things easy right from the outset, but he didn't do it, forcing me to watch this Hitchcock wannabe for
another 100 minutes.
All in all, skip The House on Carroll Street and keep on walking.