- The women in film noir are typically pigeonholed into one of three classic archetypes: the innocent angel, the tragic victim, or the femme fatale. Joan Crawford, however, was a rare example of an actress whose characters consistently defied these simple characterizations. In Mildred Pierce, she portrayed a self-sufficient woman whose problems stemmed entirely from her devilish daughter and the devious men in her life. In Possessed, she was a schizophrenic mix of tragic sympathy and confused rage. In this film, Sudden Fear, she continues the tradition by playing a woman who refuses to become the victim in her own story.
- As a successful playwright, Crawford's character, Myra Hudson, knows a thing or two about plotting. She also knows that Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) is just too weird-looking to be cast as the leading man in her new play, despite his protests to the contrary. But when the two of them later run into each other on a cross-country train, Myra quickly falls in love. By the time they hit San Francisco, they're an item. Although the audience knows that Lester has been introducing some artificial drama into their relationship, the couple soon gets married. Naturally, Myra asks her lawyer (Bruce Bennett) to adjust her will in Lester's favor.
- One night, at a gala event, Lester and Myra are introduced to Irene (Gloria Grahame), who is there with the aforementioned lawyer's son (Mike Connors). One quickly infers that Irene and Lester knew each other in a different city and by different names. Whatever mischief Lester had been planning quickly transforms into to a murder scheme when he misunderstands Myra's will, but the joke is really on Lester. It turns out that Myra's dictaphone recorded his plans! Now Myra just has to survive being married to a homicidal husband who intends to kill her within the next 48 hours. Fortunately, she's smarter than Lester and Irene combined, even if she proves to be considerably less ruthless.
- Although its basic plot (based on a novel by Edna Sherry) is compelling on its own, Sudden Fear succeeds largely because of Crawford's mesmerizing performance and David Miller's impressive directoral flourishes. Once Myra discovers the truth about Lester, we are treated to a set of visions in which she dies by his hands in a variety of ways. Her next vision, in which she marches through a revenge plot while a clock pendulum oscillates between her widened eyes, is even more wonderfully surreal. The film also has a lot of fun with sound, shattering silent scenes with unexpected phone calls, doorbell rings, and the occasional dog toy. In the end, Myra avoids being the victim without having to become the femme fatale, granting Crawford yet another unique and memorable role in her filmography.
