In the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, the Polish Victoria Kowelska (Valentina Cortesa) has lost her husband and family in the war. She befriends her fellow citizen Karin Dernakova (Natasha Lytess),who miss her son Chris (Gordon Gebert) that lives with her Aunt Sophie in San Francisco. Karin dies three days before the liberation forces commanded by Major Marc Bennett (William Lundigan) arrive at the camp and Victoria assumes the identity of her friend to emigrate to the United States. However, she is informed that Aunt Sophie has just died and she stays in a camp for survivors.

Four years later, she succeeds to go to the United States and meets Sophie's lawyer. She learns that Alan Spender (Richard Basehart) was assigned Chris' trustee and he invites her to travel with him to San Francisco to see Chris. Along their journey, they get married to each other and Karin has a cold reception from the housekeeper Margaret (Fay Baker) that raises Chris at the mansion on Telegraph Hill. Karin meets Major Bennett, who is a friend of Alan, in a party at home and she befriends him. Soon Karin is connected to Chris, but when she has a car accident, she suspects that Alan wants to kill Chris and her to keep the money for him. Is she paranoid?

"The House on Telegraph Hill" is an enjoyable thriller with a story of greed. The movie has an impressive scene when Victoria's car loses the break on the hills of San Francisco. The mystery is kept to the end when the truth is shown. The Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp is the place where Anne Frank died. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Terrível Suspeita" ("Terrible Suspicion")

The House On Telegraph Hill is both the title of this film and the goal of refugee Valentina Cortese. As a survivor from a concentration camp she wants out of Europe and life in America. So she takes the identity of a friend who died there who happened to be Polish nobility and who married into a wealthy American family from San Francisco.

When she arrives in America who is to greet her but a cousin-in-law and guardian to her 'son' Gordon Gebbert. Richard Basehart is in that role and after some hesitation puts the moves on Cortese and they marry. That should cinch her citizenship in America.

Things don't seem right for Cortese and not just the fact she's not who she says she is. There's a housekeeper played by Fay Baker who takes an intense dislike to her and also the fact that she's obsessed with Gebbert almost regarding him as her own. Basehart starts acting strange as well. Her only friend is William Lundigan who was a major in the army and whom she dealt with coincidentally, a little too coincidentally for my taste in the displaced persons camp after World War II.

That and the fact that an incredibly stupid error on one of the protagonists parts trips up the scheme are what bars The House On Telegraph Hill. Making up for that are good performances from Cortese and Basehart who overcome story and script deficiencies. The film did get an Oscar nomination for Black and White Art&Set Direction and that is the film's other asset.

The film seems to have been earmarked for Ingrid Bergman, but she was in Italian exile when The House On Telegraph Hill was being made. In any event it was a gain for Valentina Cortese who made the most of a performance in this film.

Victoria (Valentina Cortese) is a Polish concentration camp inmate when the film begins. She is friends with Karin, though it seems likely Karin will not survive the camp. And, when the war ends and Karin is dead, impulsively Victoria assumes Karin's identity. After all, Karin has a relative and child in the US and Victoria is all alone. However, moving into her friend's life isn't as easy as she suspects. While they do accept her as Karin, things have happened behind the scenes and soon Karin/Victoria thinks someone is out to kill her. But who and why? I could say more, but as this is a mystery film, I will not spoil the surprises.

This is a decent movie but has a few problems. The most obvious is that once the leading lady realizes there is a problem in the house, she behaves so stupidly. First, she acts totally high-strung and hides her feelings so poorly. Second, you'd think that given her fears, she'd just get the heck out of the house! In fact, that's a problem with a lot of films--when the leading character is afraid for their life but don't just runaway to avoid being killed. Duh. This just wasn't handled very well. However, despite this, the film does have an interesting plot, it maintains a nice creepy atmosphere, it ends well and the actors all were quite good.

By the way, get a load of the car wreck. It was amazingly unconvincing-especially when the intended victim just got up and walked away after being thrown from the crashing car. Again, duh.