This contemporaneous Gothic thriller is courtesy of Robert Wise who knew a thing or two about this kind of yarn, (he did make "Curse of the Cat People" and "The Body Snatcher", not to mention "The Haunting"). This also has a nice Hitchcockian flair with a touch of the 'Rebecca's' about it as well as "Suspicion". Valentina Cortese is the concentration camp survivor who steals a dead friend's identity so she can come to America only to find when she gets there that her friend's young son has inherited a fortune. Of course, she is only posing as his mother and in no time at all is married to the boy's guardian, (Richard Basehart). There's also a sexy Mrs. Danvers character, played by Fay Baker, who's being looking after the boy, so you know things aren't going to end well for somebody.
Overtaken in many people's affections by several of Wise's later films this is still an excellent and underrated suspense movie. Of course, you don't have to be Agatha Christie to figure out which way the plot's heading, particularly when a handsome former soldier from Valentina's past enters the picture so originality isn't the film's strong suit but Wise keeps it ticking along very nicely while the titular "House on Telegraph Hill" is both attractive and sinister in equal measure.
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