The 3rd Voice (also known as The Third Voice) is a 1960 American neo noir thriller crime drama film directed and written by Hubert Cornfield, who also produced the film with Maury Dexter. It is based on the novel All the Way by Charles Williams and stars Edmond O'Brien, Laraine Day (in her final film), and Julie London.
Contents
Plot
The Man is the accomplice of Marian Forbes, the spurned mistress of a tycoon. She coaches The Man in impersonating the voice and appearance and habits of the intended victim. The Man begins his masquerade in a Mexican resort, where he meets Corey Scott and moves on to contemplating the murder of his tutor, but things begin to go awry.
Cast
Edmond O'Brien as The Man
Laraine Day as Marian Forbes
Julie London as Corey Scott
Edward Colmans as Carreras
Shirley O'Hara as Carreras' Secretary
Ralph Brooks as Harris Chapman
Abel Franco as Police Inspector
George Eldredge as Judge Kendall
Roque Ybarra as 1st Fisherman
Ruben Moreno as 2nd Fisherman
Raoul De Leon as Bank Official
Francisco Ortega as Bank Cashier
John Garrett as Bank Clerk
Henry Delgado as Desk Clerk as Palacio
Andre Oropeza as Desk Clerk as Miramar
Sylvia Ray as Hotel Miramar Cashier
Tom Hernández as Other Desk Clerk
Olga San Juan as Blonde
George Trevino as Captain Camos
Lucille Curtis as Mrs. Kendall
Tom Daly as Tourist at Bar
Mario Armenta as Orchestra Leader
Robert Hernandez as Bellhop
Eddie Le Baron as Carlos
Manuel Serrano as Headwaiter
Francis Ravel as Waiter
Alberto Monte as Photographer
Production
The film was produced by Robert L. Lippert's Associated Producers Incorporated, which produced lower-budget films for 20th Century Fox. Lippert bought the rights to the book and arranged for Hubert Cornfield to adapt and direct. Lippert and Fox president Spyros Skouras increased the budget to a level that co-producer Maury Dexter described as a "nervous A class" of film. The film was shot in and around Los Angeles and Malibu in October 1959.
According to Dexter, Cornfield accused O'Brien of not knowing his lines, and O'Brien threatened to punch Cornfield on the final day of filming.
Reception
Dexter later wrote that the film received positive reviews and "did fairly well at the box office".
In a contemporary review for the New York Times, critic A. H. Weiler called the film "... taut, complex and eerily fascinating for only about three-quarters of the way. A dénouement that seems telegraphed and contrived and some situations that are overly garrulous and static keep 'The Third Voice' from reaching a high pitch of excitement."
The Los Angeles Times called the film an "interesting thriller."