In Fritz Lang‘s M, it’s the killer who infamously whistles. In Ida Lupino‘s Outrage, Ann (Mala Powers) can be heard whistling while walking home from her job. The hour is especially late, and apparently Ann was the only one who got roped into working overtime, because none of her coworkers are around.
Ann is no killer. Her whistling isn’t malicious, but lighthearted – what whistling’s supposed to be – and yet the scene recalls M, not because the whistlers have anything in common but because of what their whistling brings about or anticipates. In M, whistling is a sign that the killer is about to close in on their victim. Later, that same whistling gets the killer caught. When Ann starts whistling in Outrage viewers already know that her exit has garnered the attention of the man at the coffee stand (Albert Mellen) who was listening in when she told her friend she was working late. Her whistling isn’t the reason he notices her. He’s there to catch her alone, but what Ann’s whistling does is tell viewers she doesn’t realize she’s being watched. She doesn’t realize she’s in danger.
Like the word “pregnant,” the word “rape” was taboo during the production code, so Outrage uses “criminal assault” – a term that’s much more encompassing and indirect. Focusing on what Outrage couldn’t do, however, ignores what the film does achieve. First of all, it never tries to victim blame Ann for being assaulted. While not everyone’s response is compassionate (especially amongst the film’s authority figures), there’s never any doubt that the film’s sympathies lie with Ann. The film also isn’t afraid to show the ugliness of male entitlement (if it also refuses to hold men accountable). Bruce Ferguson (Tod Andrews) – a preacher who confusingly goes by the nickname “Doc” – is arguably Ann’s biggest advocate, yet, in also believing he knows best, when it comes to how she should live her life, he’s the character who would be voted, ‘most likely to make viewers want to pull their hair out.’
Interestingly, while Kino Lorber have chosen to categorize Outrage as a film noir (the description on the Blu-ray case says as much), film historian, Imogen Sara Smith, immediately dismisses that designation in her commentary track (and, if you’ve ever listened to one of Smith’s commentaries before, you know there are few who know the genre better than her). Smith provides plenty of information on Lupino, who was the only female director working at the time (those interested in Lupino’s films will find many of them have been released by Kino Lorber). Probably my favorite discovery, thanks to Smith, was releasing how much Lupino foreshadows what’s to come in her framing, with scenes that appear outwardly cheerful at first viewing but which are actually quite claustrophobic.
Smith also draws attention to Lupino’s choice to have Ann’s family disappear after a certain point in the film and provides some contemporary examples of films that addressed rape (Johnny Belinda, The Accused), though there weren’t that many.
Outrage is available on Blu-ray and DVD now from Kino Lorber.
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