Sudden Fear
Updated: 12/20/2025, 11:26:41 AM Wikipedia source
Sudden Fear is a 1952 American film noir thriller film starring Joan Crawford and Jack Palance in a tale about a successful woman who marries a murderous man. Directed by David Miller, the screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee and Robert Smith was based upon the novel of the same name by Edna Sherry.
Infobox
Directed by
David Miller
Screenplay by
Lenore J. CoffeeRobert Smith
Based on
Sudden Fear1948 novelby Edna Sherry
Produced by
Joseph Kaufman
Starring
Joan CrawfordJack PalanceGloria Grahame
Cinematography
Charles Lang
Edited by
Leon Barsha
Music by
Elmer Bernstein
Color process
Black and white
Productioncompany
Joseph Kaufmann Productions
Distributed by
RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
mw- August 7, 1952 (1952-08-07) (New York City)
Running time
110 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$600,000
Box office
$1.65 million(USA rentals)
Tables
· Accolades
Academy Awards
Academy Awards
Award
Academy Awards
Category
Best Actress
Nominee(s)
Joan Crawford
Result
Nominated
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Award
Best Supporting Actor
Category
Jack Palance
Nominee(s)
Nominated
Best Cinematography – Black-and-White
Best Cinematography – Black-and-White
Award
Best Cinematography – Black-and-White
Category
Charles Lang
Nominee(s)
Nominated
Best Costume Design – Black-and-White
Best Costume Design – Black-and-White
Award
Best Costume Design – Black-and-White
Category
Sheila O'Brien
Nominee(s)
Nominated
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Award
Golden Globe Awards
Category
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Nominee(s)
Joan Crawford
Result
Nominated
Laurel Awards
Laurel Awards
Award
Laurel Awards
Category
Best Female Dramatic Performance
Nominee(s)
Won
Photoplay Awards
Photoplay Awards
Award
Photoplay Awards
Category
Most Popular Female Star
Nominee(s)
Won
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Academy Awards | Best Actress | Joan Crawford | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Jack Palance | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography – Black-and-White | Charles Lang | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design – Black-and-White | Sheila O'Brien | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Joan Crawford | Nominated | |
| Laurel Awards | Best Female Dramatic Performance | Won | ||
| Photoplay Awards | Most Popular Female Star | Won |
References
- Varietyhttps://archive.org/details/variety186-1952-05/page/n144/mode/1up?q=%22brought+in+at%22
- "Top Box-Office Hits of 1952", Variety, January 7, 1953.
- mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- }.mw-parser-output :not(.mw-parser-output):not(.documentation)>.tfd-dedup~.tfd-dedup,.mw- ‹See Thttps://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91824/enwp
- Wiler, A.H. The New York Times, film review, "Sudden Fear, Cleverly Turned Melodrama, Is New Bill at Loew's State", Auguhttps://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A01E6DD123AE23BBC4053DFBE668389649EDE
- Quirk, Lawrence J.. The Films of Joan Crawford. The Citadel Press, 1968.
- Anderson, Melissa. The Village Voice, film review, August 10, 2016. Accessed: August 9, 2017.https://web.archive.org/web/20170809131157/https://www.villagevoice.com/2016/08/10/noir-inflected-sudden-fear-is-an-underseen-classic-waiting-to-be-rediscovered/
- Schwartz, Dennis. Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews, film review, February 12, 2005. Accessed: September 13, 2025.https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/suddenfear
- Dark City: The Film Noirhttps://archive.org/details/darkcityfilmnoir00selb
- "The 25th Academy Awards (1953) Nominees and Winners"http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1953
- "Sudden Fear"https://goldenglobes.com/film/sudden-fear/