Beware My Lovely (1952)

Set in 1918, a war widow (Ida Lupino) hires a handyman (Robert Ryan) looking for work. What she doesn't know is that he's a mentally unbalanced homicidal maniac. Based on the play THE MAN by Mel Dinelli and directed by Harry Horner (RED PLANET MARS). Lupino and Ryan starred in a terrific film noir the year before, ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951). Alas, lightning doesn't strike twice for them in this noir-ish thriller. I found it on the monotonous side and the movie doesn't provide any tension until its last 7 minutes. Although there are other minor characters in the film, it's essentially a two character piece with Lupino being terrorized in her own home by Ryan's psychotic for most of the film's running time. Ryan (in an unsubtle performance) is so obviously a disturbed individual that one wonders why Lupino doesn't see it sooner. Maybe a stronger underscore other than the one provided by Leith Stevens would have helped to push the tension quotient. With Barbara Whiting and Taylor Holmes.