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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 356

Strange Illusion

194587 minUnited States
Film noirCrime
Video edition
YouTube
Original language
English
This copy runs
85:13
Subtitles
English

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Synopsis

A student's recurring dream links his father's death to the man now courting his widowed mother. Unable to dismiss the image, he begins watching the suitor and questioning the reassuring explanations around him. His search turns a family romance into a psychological mystery in which suspicion may be both a warning and a danger.

Cast

DirectorsEdgar G. Ulmer

Inspirations

The family triangle loosely reworks Hamlet as a contemporary crime story. Edgar G. Ulmer combines that literary framework with dream imagery and psychological unease, using lighting and atmosphere to give a modest production a strong sense of uncertainty.

Sources and availability

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Wikipedia — film referenceInternet Archive — catalogue recordPublic-domain film catalogue — rights cross-referencePublic-domain film catalogue — rights cross-reference

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

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Availability checked on September 10, 2026.

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