Dirk Bogarde attempts to mug Alexander Knox at gunpoint in a dark London street. Knox overcomes him by twisting his arm. Next, Alexis Smith, Knox's wife, comes home from a trip to Paris, sees Bogarde in her house, assumes he is one of her psychiatrist husband's patients, but is told that he is a criminal who is living under her roof for six months as an experiment in criminal rehabilitation which her husband is carrying out as a humane alternative to sending the young man to jail. She accepts the arrangement with barely a shrug. Bogarde immediately proceeds to verbally and physically abuse the house maid and act rudely toward Smith. Yet for some reason she is attracted to him and soon they are having a hot affair under the husband's nose. And on and on it goes. One startling development after another. There are elements of the overly simplistic psychiatric rehab genre reminiscent of Hollywood classics like Now, Voyager and Spellbound but with a more realistic look and feel. The music is intense and draws attention to itself, from the cacophonous noise that Smith listens to on her home record player to the sizzling live jazz at the Soho dive where she goes to loosen up with her secret lover. Bogarde is supposed to be a low-life criminal but his polished accent and genteel mannerisms seem thoroughly middle-class and this is never explained. Alexander Knox seems made of wood yet is somehow believable as the kind of intellectually preoccupied and unflappable person who just might come up with the idea of inviting a mugger into his home as an eccentric form of research. And Smith, icily self-contained at the beginning, gradually gets a chance to do some dynamic emoting. She's very good in this. The title of the film symbolizes the wild impulses that sleep within us, waiting to be awakened. From the 2007 vantage point there are no important or original social or intellectual insights here but the way the film is edited, photographed and scored are deliberately jarring without distracting from the film's intent. Losey wants to shake us up and he succeeds.
28 Reviews
Who's Your Daddy?
Hitchcoc27 April 2007
It's just a bit too much. The good doctor is attacked at gunpoint. He disarms the bad guy, then brings him home to dinner, where his high strung wife spars with the guy. Of course, the two eventually begin a movie long tryst. Dirk Bogarde is a bad boy who is a bundle of anger. He usually gets what he wants but carries more baggage than a porter at an airport. Alexis Smith is the femme fatale. She is older and bored with her psychologist husband, who is determined to resurrect the lad. He is willing to allow this man to do whatever he wants: bringing women to the house, bossing around the help, robbing jewelry stores and businesses. He is pursued by a cop who is on to him but has respect for the doctor and backs off on an arrest. It's hard to believe that this man should give a rip about Bogarde, but somehow he's willing to withdraw. The weakest part of the movie is when it all falls into place. It's so pat. A contemporary film would have built the house a card at a time; this happens in milliseconds. Then we have the denouement which I will not spoil. Let me just say it was a disappointment. The movie is visually sharp and the acting is pretty good. I never really like Alexis Smith much and she is a little grating here. Still, it's a decent performance and the subject is a little ahead of its time.
THE SLEEPING TIGER (Joseph Losey, 1954) ***
Bunuel197621 February 2007
A certain Victor Hanbury is credited with directing this remarkable psychological drama but that won't fool any of Joseph Losey's admirers since it shares not only thematic similarities with one of his most notable American films, THE PROWLER (1951), but was indeed the turning point of his career in many ways: blacklisted by Hollywood for his Communist leanings, Losey fled first to Italy and then to Britain, remaining in Europe for the rest of his days. THE SLEEPING TIGER also marked the start of a fruitful collaboration (resulting in five films) between Losey and star Dirk Bogarde, who here shows a definite maturity miles away from the bland matinée idol roles he typically played during this period; the film itself has an intensity not found in contemporary British cinema.
Alexis Smith (terrific in one of her last starring roles) and Alexander Knox (playing his part in the Glenn Ford manner – where a quiet exterior conceals a strong personality, hence the film's title) are the married couple whose sheltered suburban lives are invaded by smart but incorrigible thug Bogarde; Knox is a psychiatrist whom the young man had tried to hold up, but has the tables turned on him and is subsequently kept on in the former's house as a 'guinea pig' – echoes of BLIND ALLEY (1939) and THE DARK PAST (1948) – where he stirs up the passionate instincts of the doctor's frustrated American wife. Needless to say, there's no happy ending for any of the characters: the climax provides plenty of fireworks and twists – with Losey's ironic symbolism being maintained till the film's very last shot. Composer Malcolm Arnold adapts his score to each of the film's moods, alternating between the sleazy and the histrionic.
Unfortunately, the poor-quality Public Domain print I watched bears some evident signs of wear-and-tear as there are a handful of jarring jump-cuts throughout (resulting in a running-time of 87 minutes against the official 89); several years back, the film was released on PAL VHS but no official DVD is in sight yet in any region (a status, alas, in common with the majority of Losey's work prior to the 1960s).
Alexis Smith (terrific in one of her last starring roles) and Alexander Knox (playing his part in the Glenn Ford manner – where a quiet exterior conceals a strong personality, hence the film's title) are the married couple whose sheltered suburban lives are invaded by smart but incorrigible thug Bogarde; Knox is a psychiatrist whom the young man had tried to hold up, but has the tables turned on him and is subsequently kept on in the former's house as a 'guinea pig' – echoes of BLIND ALLEY (1939) and THE DARK PAST (1948) – where he stirs up the passionate instincts of the doctor's frustrated American wife. Needless to say, there's no happy ending for any of the characters: the climax provides plenty of fireworks and twists – with Losey's ironic symbolism being maintained till the film's very last shot. Composer Malcolm Arnold adapts his score to each of the film's moods, alternating between the sleazy and the histrionic.
Unfortunately, the poor-quality Public Domain print I watched bears some evident signs of wear-and-tear as there are a handful of jarring jump-cuts throughout (resulting in a running-time of 87 minutes against the official 89); several years back, the film was released on PAL VHS but no official DVD is in sight yet in any region (a status, alas, in common with the majority of Losey's work prior to the 1960s).
A selected case study
bkoganbing1 January 2019
Alexis Smith was one of many American stars who came to the United Kingdom to
find work which was becoming less and less in Hollywood as less feature films were being made.. She was lucky to get this role opposite rising British cinema
favorite Dirk Bogarde.
Smith plays the wife of criminal psychologist Alexander Knox who believes that with some analysis some criminals can be cured. So far not different than those two Hollywood classics Blind Alley and The Dark Past. But in those cases criminals broke into the homes of psychologists Ralph Bellamy and Lee J. Cobb and under stress the two mental health professionals did some probing.
But Bogarde is a selected case study. He's paroled to Knox and gets to live in his home where Smith finds the sexy Bogarde impossible to resist.
Bogarde is Stanley Kowalski with a criminal record if this film had been made on this side of the pond Marlon Brando would have been an obvious choice for the part. Let's say that Knox should have kept his business and professional life separate. Smith is great as a forty something woman in some serious heat.
One person I always enjoy seeing in British films is Hugh Griffith who always brings something to even a relatively colorless part like a police inspector here.
Blacklisted director Joseph Losey directed The Sleeping Tiger and it's a fine piece of work
Smith plays the wife of criminal psychologist Alexander Knox who believes that with some analysis some criminals can be cured. So far not different than those two Hollywood classics Blind Alley and The Dark Past. But in those cases criminals broke into the homes of psychologists Ralph Bellamy and Lee J. Cobb and under stress the two mental health professionals did some probing.
But Bogarde is a selected case study. He's paroled to Knox and gets to live in his home where Smith finds the sexy Bogarde impossible to resist.
Bogarde is Stanley Kowalski with a criminal record if this film had been made on this side of the pond Marlon Brando would have been an obvious choice for the part. Let's say that Knox should have kept his business and professional life separate. Smith is great as a forty something woman in some serious heat.
One person I always enjoy seeing in British films is Hugh Griffith who always brings something to even a relatively colorless part like a police inspector here.
Blacklisted director Joseph Losey directed The Sleeping Tiger and it's a fine piece of work
Not tiger but tigress Alexis Smith walks away with the movie
bmacv29 August 2002
A more apt title would have been The Sleeping Tigress, for it's Alexis Smith's performance that holds this movie together and lends it erotic friction. Despite her old-money looks and regal carriage, Smith numbered among the many talents which Hollywood mis- and under- used. She claimed attention in two late-forties Bogart vehicles, Conflict (where she was good) and The Two Mrs. Carrolls (in which she was even better, and held her own against Barbara Stanwyck). But most of her movie career consisted of mediocre roles the ones the star actresses turned down or had to refuse owing to other commitments. (It wasn't until Stephen Sondheim's Follies on Broadway in the 70s that her own star shone).
In this film from Joseph Losey's English exile following the Hollywood witch hunt, she plays the bored wife of psychotherapist Alexander Knox (and with him pottering around the house, who wouldn't be bored?). Bleeding-heart Knox takes a troubled young man with a prison record (Dirk Bogarde) under his roof in hopes of performing a therapeutic Pygmalion job on him. At first Smith acts snooty, then grows intrigued, and finally throws herself at Bogarde with pent-up abandon.
Comes the crunch as Knox, in a three-minute Freudian breakthrough reminiscent of Lee J. Cobb's instant rehabilitation of William Holden in The Dark Past, turns the lying, thieving, abusive Bogarde into a contrite milquetoast. When Bogarde then bids her farewell, Smith careens into dementia every bit as swiftly as Bogarde was healed and feigns an assault in hopes that Knox will defend her `honor' with that gun every therapist keeps in his desk drawer....
It's a lame story that might have been more convincing in an American context; the London setting and British conventions (in particular Knox's) stifle it. Bogarde started out playing this sort of charming wrong'un but isn't especially memorable here (except for his towering pompadour that must have been borrowed from Mario Lanza). But Smith's feral feline makes The Sleeping Tiger worth the ticket price.
In this film from Joseph Losey's English exile following the Hollywood witch hunt, she plays the bored wife of psychotherapist Alexander Knox (and with him pottering around the house, who wouldn't be bored?). Bleeding-heart Knox takes a troubled young man with a prison record (Dirk Bogarde) under his roof in hopes of performing a therapeutic Pygmalion job on him. At first Smith acts snooty, then grows intrigued, and finally throws herself at Bogarde with pent-up abandon.
Comes the crunch as Knox, in a three-minute Freudian breakthrough reminiscent of Lee J. Cobb's instant rehabilitation of William Holden in The Dark Past, turns the lying, thieving, abusive Bogarde into a contrite milquetoast. When Bogarde then bids her farewell, Smith careens into dementia every bit as swiftly as Bogarde was healed and feigns an assault in hopes that Knox will defend her `honor' with that gun every therapist keeps in his desk drawer....
It's a lame story that might have been more convincing in an American context; the London setting and British conventions (in particular Knox's) stifle it. Bogarde started out playing this sort of charming wrong'un but isn't especially memorable here (except for his towering pompadour that must have been borrowed from Mario Lanza). But Smith's feral feline makes The Sleeping Tiger worth the ticket price.
Highly-strung woman seeks to escape her dreary life
didi-527 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Actually, this film isn't all bad. 'The Sleeping Tiger' refers to Alexis Smith's bored doctor's wife, who decides to throw herself at the bit of rough from the criminal classes (Dirk Bogarde) who her husband is hoping to rehabilitate. I suppose Bogarde's Frank is a British equivalent to the angry young men of Brando or Dean, but being British he is just a bit too mannered to be convincing.
Smith's descent into frustration and anger after being rejected is unconvincing and done too quickly, meaning that the end sequences are rushed and unbelievable. Still, up to that point, the film is not bad. The relationship between Smith, Bogarde, and Smith's husband (Alexander Knox), is played out well and the film manages to be fairly engrossing and somewhat ahead of its time.
Smith's descent into frustration and anger after being rejected is unconvincing and done too quickly, meaning that the end sequences are rushed and unbelievable. Still, up to that point, the film is not bad. The relationship between Smith, Bogarde, and Smith's husband (Alexander Knox), is played out well and the film manages to be fairly engrossing and somewhat ahead of its time.
The tiger does not sleep tonight
dbdumonteil4 May 2008
At the time ,like so many others such as Dalton Trumbo,Joseph Losey used to work under pseudos because of his commie friends.
"The sleeping tiger" predates permanent features in the director's work:
-the intruder ,be it a servant "(eponymous movie) ,a licentious gypsy ("the gypsy and the gentleman" ),some kind of doppelganger ("Monsieur Klein" ,perhaps his masterpiece), a mysterious girl ("secret ceremony"),who makes the place his very own ,physically ("The servant" ) or mentally ('Monsieur Klein" ).Dirk Bogarde is fascinating in his part of a young offender :his acting is so subtle we do not know when the movie ends whether he is a victim or a perverse person,probably both.
-the depiction of the decay of a milieu the intruder will destroy : the old aristocracy in "the gypsy and the gentleman" ,the bourgeoisie in "the servant" the world of the war profiteers in " Monsieur Klein" . When Alexis Smith tells her husband's guinea pig that she got a raw deal too when she was a child but she made her way of life just the same ,the guy knows better :"because you think you are happy now?"
A shrink wants to study a case of delinquency and wakens the sleeping tiger...which is perhaps not the one you are thinking of.
Superlative performances by the three leads.
"The sleeping tiger" predates permanent features in the director's work:
-the intruder ,be it a servant "(eponymous movie) ,a licentious gypsy ("the gypsy and the gentleman" ),some kind of doppelganger ("Monsieur Klein" ,perhaps his masterpiece), a mysterious girl ("secret ceremony"),who makes the place his very own ,physically ("The servant" ) or mentally ('Monsieur Klein" ).Dirk Bogarde is fascinating in his part of a young offender :his acting is so subtle we do not know when the movie ends whether he is a victim or a perverse person,probably both.
-the depiction of the decay of a milieu the intruder will destroy : the old aristocracy in "the gypsy and the gentleman" ,the bourgeoisie in "the servant" the world of the war profiteers in " Monsieur Klein" . When Alexis Smith tells her husband's guinea pig that she got a raw deal too when she was a child but she made her way of life just the same ,the guy knows better :"because you think you are happy now?"
A shrink wants to study a case of delinquency and wakens the sleeping tiger...which is perhaps not the one you are thinking of.
Superlative performances by the three leads.
First Losey-Bogarde collaboration anticipates The Servant
gjevideo3 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Before I knew that this was a Joseph Losey film, I did notice a similarity with his film "The Servant ". Dirk Bogarde playing a sinister infiltrator in a private house. American noir set in 1950s England with 2 US actors in starring roles. Psychiatry was a cool profession then and of course Bogarde's character is miraculously cured in the last reel. Strangely the real anachronism (ANC for me the draw of watching a65 year old movie on TV) is the depiction of the low Soho "dive" with an all black bebop jazz combo providing dance music for frantic jiving couples, with blokes sporting Tony Curtis haircuts. Bit too long but very interesting.
In this personality it's a tiger, a sleeping tiger.
hitchcockthelegend14 June 2013
The Sleeping Tiger is directed by Joseph Losey (using the alias Victor Hanbury) and adapted to screenplay by Derek Frye from the novel written by Maurice Moiseiwitswch. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Alexis Smith, Alexander Knox, Patricia McCarron, Maxine Audley and Hugh Griffith. Music is by Malcolm Arnold and cinematography by Harry Waxman.
When criminal Frank Clemmons (Bogarde) fails in his attempt to mug psychiatrist Dr. Clive Esmond (Knox), he is surprised to be invited to stay at the good doctor's house instead of going to prison. The doctor's motives are simple, he believes he can reform Frank whilst studying him at close quarters. Frank is only too happy to accept the offer, even more so when a relationship begins to form with Dr. Esmond's wife, Glenda (Smith). However, as passions stir and the tiger awakens, it's unlikely to end happily...
Blacklisted in Hollywood, Joseph Losey would find a home in the UK and produce some superb movies. The Sleeping Tiger has thematic links to two other great Losey movies, The Prowler (1951) and The Servant (1963), a sort of meat in the sandwich if you will. Dripping with psychologically redemptive sweat and pulsing with sexual frustrations, it's a film very much concerned with tightening the spring until it eventually explodes. And when it does it's well worth the wait, for there is no pandering to happy days endings, this has a kicker of a twist and it beats a black heart.
In the interim some patience is required as the key relationships at the centre of the plotting are steadily drawn, with Losey and Frye tantalising us with shards of character interest at regular intervals. Frank drifting on and off the rails livens proceedings, with the good doctor Esmond's loyalty putting some surprising spice in the story, while Frank's courting of Glenda (horse rides together, taking her dancing at a seedy jazz/blues club) and bullying of the maid, Sally (McCarron), keep us fascinated as to where this will end up.
Visually it's firmly in noir territory, more so in the first and last thirds, where Waxman (Brighton Rock) ensures shadows reflect the tonal shifts of plotting and the character's mental health. Arnold's (Academy Award Winner for The Bridge on the River Kwai) score is heavily jazz and blues influenced, mixing sorrowful beats with up-tempo thrums. Cast are excellent. Bogarde and Losey would compliment each other greatly and this is a good indicator of what would come during their five collaborations. Knox (Chase A Crooked Shadow) is wonderfully assured, while Smith (The Two Mrs. Carrolls) owns the movie with some deft changing of character gears.
The plot's a bit out there man, and Losey's slow teasing in the mid- sections may annoy those not familiar with his non American work. But this is very much a little ole devil worth seeking out. 7.5/10
When criminal Frank Clemmons (Bogarde) fails in his attempt to mug psychiatrist Dr. Clive Esmond (Knox), he is surprised to be invited to stay at the good doctor's house instead of going to prison. The doctor's motives are simple, he believes he can reform Frank whilst studying him at close quarters. Frank is only too happy to accept the offer, even more so when a relationship begins to form with Dr. Esmond's wife, Glenda (Smith). However, as passions stir and the tiger awakens, it's unlikely to end happily...
Blacklisted in Hollywood, Joseph Losey would find a home in the UK and produce some superb movies. The Sleeping Tiger has thematic links to two other great Losey movies, The Prowler (1951) and The Servant (1963), a sort of meat in the sandwich if you will. Dripping with psychologically redemptive sweat and pulsing with sexual frustrations, it's a film very much concerned with tightening the spring until it eventually explodes. And when it does it's well worth the wait, for there is no pandering to happy days endings, this has a kicker of a twist and it beats a black heart.
In the interim some patience is required as the key relationships at the centre of the plotting are steadily drawn, with Losey and Frye tantalising us with shards of character interest at regular intervals. Frank drifting on and off the rails livens proceedings, with the good doctor Esmond's loyalty putting some surprising spice in the story, while Frank's courting of Glenda (horse rides together, taking her dancing at a seedy jazz/blues club) and bullying of the maid, Sally (McCarron), keep us fascinated as to where this will end up.
Visually it's firmly in noir territory, more so in the first and last thirds, where Waxman (Brighton Rock) ensures shadows reflect the tonal shifts of plotting and the character's mental health. Arnold's (Academy Award Winner for The Bridge on the River Kwai) score is heavily jazz and blues influenced, mixing sorrowful beats with up-tempo thrums. Cast are excellent. Bogarde and Losey would compliment each other greatly and this is a good indicator of what would come during their five collaborations. Knox (Chase A Crooked Shadow) is wonderfully assured, while Smith (The Two Mrs. Carrolls) owns the movie with some deft changing of character gears.
The plot's a bit out there man, and Losey's slow teasing in the mid- sections may annoy those not familiar with his non American work. But this is very much a little ole devil worth seeking out. 7.5/10
In the main, lousy Losey
marcslope16 October 2000
Joseph Losey, working under a pseudonym after his blacklisting, didn't want to make this overbaked British melodrama. And who can blame him, given the heavy-breathing histrionics of the screenplay, a ridiculous concoction about a psychiatrist and his sexually frustrated wife harboring a hoodlum. The plot turns are unconvincing, the music hilariously overblown, and Alexander Knox, as the shrink, terminally uninteresting.
What makes this mess watchable is its game imitation of American noir tropes (dark alleys, femmes fatales, car chases), and some good very early rock-and-roll/jazz in the pub sequences. Also, the film can be viewed as a warmup for the later Losey-Bogarde collaborations, which explored similar themes (guilt, moral ambiguity, the nature of evil) much more expertly.
What makes this mess watchable is its game imitation of American noir tropes (dark alleys, femmes fatales, car chases), and some good very early rock-and-roll/jazz in the pub sequences. Also, the film can be viewed as a warmup for the later Losey-Bogarde collaborations, which explored similar themes (guilt, moral ambiguity, the nature of evil) much more expertly.
"In the dark forest of every human personality there's a tiger, a sleeping tiger".
classicsoncall31 July 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed reading the other contributor views on this board for "The Sleeping Tiger", particularly since I don't know anything about director Joseph Losey's political leanings and his team-ups with actor Dirk Bogarde. Taking the picture at face value, I had some trouble right from the get-go with Dr. Clive Esmond's (Alexander Knox) willingness to bring a common street thug into his home for the purpose of rehabilitation. Considering the doctor's age, one would surmise that he would have had enough time in his professional career to figure out that this strategy would have a predictably low success rate. After catching Frank (Bogarde) and icy veined wife Glenda (Alexis Smith) in the kitchen together, you would think he would have 'gotten it', but he still remains strangely accepting of his patient's living arrangements.
Still, it's kind of fascinating to see these characters go through their paces. London's Metro Club was the perfect destination for Glenda to experience the 'other' side, enticed by Frank's admonition to "go downstairs and put on something..., a little cheaper". For someone who despised rude behavior and bad manners, Glenda willingly casts aside those reservations for a veritable walk on the wild side because of her boring and stuffy marriage to Clive. All fairly predictable.
Actually it's those Metro Club scenes that sparked the most interest for me, a jazzy precursor to the decade later birth of the British sound. You have to keep an eye on some of the dance partners who appear downright goofy, and was it just me, or did Frank's chummy squeeze from the Metro wear the same dress on three different occasions. Just an observation.
Well even if the story stretches credibility to the breaking point, it's bound to hold your interest in a train wreck sort of way. I really had to groan when the finale brought the sleeping tiger connection to the title in a visually jarring way with the crash through that road sign. Does anyone have ANY idea what that sign was all about?
Still, it's kind of fascinating to see these characters go through their paces. London's Metro Club was the perfect destination for Glenda to experience the 'other' side, enticed by Frank's admonition to "go downstairs and put on something..., a little cheaper". For someone who despised rude behavior and bad manners, Glenda willingly casts aside those reservations for a veritable walk on the wild side because of her boring and stuffy marriage to Clive. All fairly predictable.
Actually it's those Metro Club scenes that sparked the most interest for me, a jazzy precursor to the decade later birth of the British sound. You have to keep an eye on some of the dance partners who appear downright goofy, and was it just me, or did Frank's chummy squeeze from the Metro wear the same dress on three different occasions. Just an observation.
Well even if the story stretches credibility to the breaking point, it's bound to hold your interest in a train wreck sort of way. I really had to groan when the finale brought the sleeping tiger connection to the title in a visually jarring way with the crash through that road sign. Does anyone have ANY idea what that sign was all about?
Alexis Smith at the mercy of the dangerous criminal Dirk Bogarde brought home by her husband.
clanciai23 July 2017
There is always something unpleasant and morbid about Joseph Losey's films as if they were innately self-destructive, you always sit waiting for the worst, and it always comes, but you never know how, and that's the worst of it.
This film is slightly different from his ordinary ones, with above all an impressing camera work slanting towards almost Bergmanesque expressionism, but the dominant trait is the impressing acting by the three main characters, Alexis Smith, always beautiful and stylish, Dirk Bogarde, always slyly intelligent and unpredictable, and Alexander Knox, always on the safe and right side of reason and humanity. He is here a psychologist venturing on the interesting but risky experiment of housing a criminal (Bogarde) instead of turning him over to the police, in an effort to straighten him out. He gets straightened out but at the cost of Alexis Smith, Dr. Knox' wife, who finds her own tiger inside herself. There is more than one tiger getting roused from sleep and every day routine in this psychological thriller of mainly reasoning and experimenting - there is a gun but no bloodshed. The raw music of saxophones constantly insisting on vulgarity adds to the decadent atmosphere of human decay and perdition, like in so many of Losey's films if not all of them, but this is certainly one of his best. The Soho scenes contrast sharply against the orderly clinic and home of Dr. Knox and add some extra suggestive noir perfume to the dark drama of passion that never should have been called forth. Alexis Smith is always excellent, but I have never seen her better than here. It's a film of many raised eyebrows and some worries, but it is brilliantly realized with impressing, convincing psychology and great intelligence all the way.
This film is slightly different from his ordinary ones, with above all an impressing camera work slanting towards almost Bergmanesque expressionism, but the dominant trait is the impressing acting by the three main characters, Alexis Smith, always beautiful and stylish, Dirk Bogarde, always slyly intelligent and unpredictable, and Alexander Knox, always on the safe and right side of reason and humanity. He is here a psychologist venturing on the interesting but risky experiment of housing a criminal (Bogarde) instead of turning him over to the police, in an effort to straighten him out. He gets straightened out but at the cost of Alexis Smith, Dr. Knox' wife, who finds her own tiger inside herself. There is more than one tiger getting roused from sleep and every day routine in this psychological thriller of mainly reasoning and experimenting - there is a gun but no bloodshed. The raw music of saxophones constantly insisting on vulgarity adds to the decadent atmosphere of human decay and perdition, like in so many of Losey's films if not all of them, but this is certainly one of his best. The Soho scenes contrast sharply against the orderly clinic and home of Dr. Knox and add some extra suggestive noir perfume to the dark drama of passion that never should have been called forth. Alexis Smith is always excellent, but I have never seen her better than here. It's a film of many raised eyebrows and some worries, but it is brilliantly realized with impressing, convincing psychology and great intelligence all the way.
Unlikely story but some visual bravura
bob99825 November 2018
You won't rank this one among the classics of the genre, but it has its pleasures. Dirk Bogarde behaves like a criminal and debates with Knox like a member of the Oxford Union, so there's a contradiction there. Alexander Knox as the psychiatrist who's supposed to help Bogarde to resolve his conflicts behaves recklessly, leaving his wife exposed to B's advances and even acting as accomplice after the fact when he arranges for the return of money the young man has stolen at gun-point! Then there's Alexis Smith who has to play ice-goddess a la Grace Kelly while enticing Bogarde into her arms. All very complicated, and not well handled by Joseph Losey who was a refugee from McCarthyism in the 50s. You'll enjoy the interiors of the doctor's house, and how Bogarde is able to use chairs and couches to his benefit.
I was attracted to this story by the presence of Alexander Knox (1907-1995). He'd been so effective as Ingrid Bergman's husband in Europa 51, as the scientist in The Damned, as the president in Wilson, to name only three. As a supporting player he had very few equals.
I was attracted to this story by the presence of Alexander Knox (1907-1995). He'd been so effective as Ingrid Bergman's husband in Europa 51, as the scientist in The Damned, as the president in Wilson, to name only three. As a supporting player he had very few equals.
Beware of bored doctor's wives with sexy male patients living right down the hall from them.
mark.waltz4 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
There's little doubt here what will happen with the very Joan Crawford like Alexis Smith as the bored wife of psychiatrist Alexander Knox who sets her sights on the sexy criminal (Dirk Bogarde) he sets out to rehabilitate. Smith starts off like a kitten, but then her claws come out, and even if she's nasty to Bogarde, you know that the thin like between hate and lust will make her long for more than just snarking at him every time the doctor husband is out of the room. Knox is the type of character here that you know probably won't hold interest for his affection-starved wife, and much like Crawford's later "Queen Bee", Smith is a cool cat about ready to pounce on her prey and leave nothing left if they don't give her what she wants.
A lot of the film is psychological talk about how a criminal can be changed if his environment changes, and you have to give the writers credit for allowing Bogarde to play this aspect of the character. But Bogarde is too high class in appearance, manner and speech to be believable as a thief, so this aspect of the story never rings true. It takes a lot of time for the heat to strike between Bogarde and Smith, and even after Knox witnesses a come-on scene between the two of them, he's still willing to allow Bogarde to remain. But as Smith gets more grasping, Bogarde gets bored with her, and it isn't long until the hidden psychosis in her character comes out, leading to an obvious conclusion where you swear you can still hear her evil laughter long after this has occurred.
In spite of Knox's boring character and Bogarde's seeming miscasting, the film grabs your attention every time that the fabulous Ms. Smith is on screen. She had little opportunity on screen to show what she could really do, and it would take Broadway to bring that out when she stepped into sexy gowns to play the glamorous Phyllis in Stephen Sondheim's "Follies". Fans of "Dallas" will see a bit of the character she later played, Lady Jessica Montford, here, and when Smith really gets chewing on the scenery, you really pray she won't choke on some of the melodramatic lines she's given. But that is what makes this movie somewhat memorable in spite of obvious flaws, and you won't soon forget her after the movie is over.
A lot of the film is psychological talk about how a criminal can be changed if his environment changes, and you have to give the writers credit for allowing Bogarde to play this aspect of the character. But Bogarde is too high class in appearance, manner and speech to be believable as a thief, so this aspect of the story never rings true. It takes a lot of time for the heat to strike between Bogarde and Smith, and even after Knox witnesses a come-on scene between the two of them, he's still willing to allow Bogarde to remain. But as Smith gets more grasping, Bogarde gets bored with her, and it isn't long until the hidden psychosis in her character comes out, leading to an obvious conclusion where you swear you can still hear her evil laughter long after this has occurred.
In spite of Knox's boring character and Bogarde's seeming miscasting, the film grabs your attention every time that the fabulous Ms. Smith is on screen. She had little opportunity on screen to show what she could really do, and it would take Broadway to bring that out when she stepped into sexy gowns to play the glamorous Phyllis in Stephen Sondheim's "Follies". Fans of "Dallas" will see a bit of the character she later played, Lady Jessica Montford, here, and when Smith really gets chewing on the scenery, you really pray she won't choke on some of the melodramatic lines she's given. But that is what makes this movie somewhat memorable in spite of obvious flaws, and you won't soon forget her after the movie is over.
Provocative Ideas Clouded Over
dougdoepke21 July 2018
An overdone psychodrama whose twists and turns require some unfortunate stretches.
Too bad the plot ironies finally drown in a tidal wave of over-emotion. Apparently, ace director Losey couldn't tone down Smith's carpet chewing finale that unfortunately overwhelms what's gone before. At the same time, we're hit over the head with the finale's sleeping tiger irony. I think the audience can put two and two together without that billboard contrivance.
Seems Glenda (Smith) is the highly repressed wife of coldly intellectual Dr. Clive (Knox), who's been neglecting her emotional needs as he pursues his writing and research. In that same pursuit he takes proven felon Frank (Bogarde) into his household in order to test his theory of criminal reform. Clive's main reform tool is to excuse Frank's misbehavior whether criminal or moral in order to get at the causes of Frank's disordered psyche. Needless to say, such indulgences cause all kinds of problems, both inside the household and out.
As Doc's indulgences mount, it seems that an optimistic ideal is being mocked. Namely, that there are no bad people, only mistreated kids who then grow into criminal behavior. For example, while in the Doc's "care", Frank robs a jewelry store, and maybe worse, spits on Clive's generosity by seducing wife Glenda. In return, the Doc simply ignores the mounting transgressions. To me, that willingness, which also puts people in Doc's community in danger, looks like a mockery of a liberal brand of Freudianism then in vogue. It may be a provocative idea for the film to play with. Nonetheless, the tiger upshot undercuts that optimism, at the same time it clouds the film's one very real tragedy.
Anyway, Bogarde comes through with a nicely modulated turn, while Knox deadpans through thick and thin, even as Smith does the sleeping tiger to an ear-splitting roar. Apparently the movie was filmed more cheaply abroad at a time when TV was eating into movie profits. So, on a small budget, don't expect much in terms of scenery or action, though noir master Losey does work in some atmosphere. To me, the story's highlight and genuine tragedy is downplayed, but is present nevertheless if you think about it. As the 90-minutes stands, it's something of a disappointment given the talent involved.
(In passing-depending on the camera angle there are times when it appears Frank and Glenda resemble Lucy and Desi from TV's iconic I Love Lucy. Then again, maybe I had one too many beers!)
Too bad the plot ironies finally drown in a tidal wave of over-emotion. Apparently, ace director Losey couldn't tone down Smith's carpet chewing finale that unfortunately overwhelms what's gone before. At the same time, we're hit over the head with the finale's sleeping tiger irony. I think the audience can put two and two together without that billboard contrivance.
Seems Glenda (Smith) is the highly repressed wife of coldly intellectual Dr. Clive (Knox), who's been neglecting her emotional needs as he pursues his writing and research. In that same pursuit he takes proven felon Frank (Bogarde) into his household in order to test his theory of criminal reform. Clive's main reform tool is to excuse Frank's misbehavior whether criminal or moral in order to get at the causes of Frank's disordered psyche. Needless to say, such indulgences cause all kinds of problems, both inside the household and out.
As Doc's indulgences mount, it seems that an optimistic ideal is being mocked. Namely, that there are no bad people, only mistreated kids who then grow into criminal behavior. For example, while in the Doc's "care", Frank robs a jewelry store, and maybe worse, spits on Clive's generosity by seducing wife Glenda. In return, the Doc simply ignores the mounting transgressions. To me, that willingness, which also puts people in Doc's community in danger, looks like a mockery of a liberal brand of Freudianism then in vogue. It may be a provocative idea for the film to play with. Nonetheless, the tiger upshot undercuts that optimism, at the same time it clouds the film's one very real tragedy.
Anyway, Bogarde comes through with a nicely modulated turn, while Knox deadpans through thick and thin, even as Smith does the sleeping tiger to an ear-splitting roar. Apparently the movie was filmed more cheaply abroad at a time when TV was eating into movie profits. So, on a small budget, don't expect much in terms of scenery or action, though noir master Losey does work in some atmosphere. To me, the story's highlight and genuine tragedy is downplayed, but is present nevertheless if you think about it. As the 90-minutes stands, it's something of a disappointment given the talent involved.
(In passing-depending on the camera angle there are times when it appears Frank and Glenda resemble Lucy and Desi from TV's iconic I Love Lucy. Then again, maybe I had one too many beers!)
Pre-figures director Losey's later "The Servant"
trimmerb123421 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Both starring Dirk Bogarde in a psycho-drama involving role and character reversal. This however deservedly lower rated due to its looser plot, implausibilities, lack of coherence, its cliches and its melodramatic style particularly in the closing stages. "The Servant" in contrast is original, compelling even claustrophobic and very memorable,
Unclear if it was intentional that the most psychologically puzzling character was not the criminal, Bogarde, but the psychiatrist: Alexander Knox. Did the writer believe that the psychiatrist was in control and judgement vindicated, succeeding better than he ever expected in getting to the root of the criminals behavior and reforming him? By being persistently supportive to the extent of perjury himself, the psychiatrist is able to bond with his "patient" and discover the source of the criminal behaviour - childhood conflict with his father - presenting it to him and provoking a break-down of the callous criminal and achieving an extraordinary conversion. Bogarde suddenly becomes considerate, tactful, respectful, empathetic and thoroughly decent. The psychiatrist on the other hand suddenly pulls out the gun conveniently but dangerously sitting in his always unlocked desk draw and chases after Bogarde. Bogarde in his evil and manipulative mode has seduced the psychiatrist's younger wife but, post conversion, becomes the decent honourable character, controlled by his hitherto non-existent conscience. Too late though. It was though one of Bogardes performances.
Put a tiger in your tank!
brogmiller7 December 2022
Even his staunchest devotees would have to acknowledge that the films of Joseph Losey are notoriously uneven. This one is of interest to Losey completists as it marks his first film in England although sadly, for reasons which have been well documented, both he and adaptors Foreman and Buchman were 'fronted' in the credits.
Losey has done his very best with the melodramatic material at his disposal and has given the film an edginess unusual for the time. There is a palpable sexual tension(surprisingly enough) between the psychotherapist's wife of Alexis Smith and the case for treatment of Dirk Bogarde. It must be said that Bogarde was never really convincing as a heart-throb and here relishes the chance to be menacing. Alexis Smith, cast for the American market, has an extremely challenging role which obliges her to run the gamut and being a thorough professional she surmounts whatever the script throws at her. Her character, like the film itself, goes off the rails at the end but I'm sure that Esso Oil was grateful for the free advertising. Mention must be made of Alexander Knox who navigates the psychobabble and delivers his customarily solid performance.
Whether Losey had a choice of composer for this is debatable but unlike most of his films in which the music is extremely irritating, Malcolm Arnold's powerful score here is spot on and aids the film immeasurably whilst Harry Waxman is a good choice as cinematographer, having previously shot 'Brighton Rock'.
This opus might not have represented the most auspicious start to the Losey/Bogarde collaboration but they could only get better and with the notable exception of 'Modesty Blaise', they most certainly did.
Losey has done his very best with the melodramatic material at his disposal and has given the film an edginess unusual for the time. There is a palpable sexual tension(surprisingly enough) between the psychotherapist's wife of Alexis Smith and the case for treatment of Dirk Bogarde. It must be said that Bogarde was never really convincing as a heart-throb and here relishes the chance to be menacing. Alexis Smith, cast for the American market, has an extremely challenging role which obliges her to run the gamut and being a thorough professional she surmounts whatever the script throws at her. Her character, like the film itself, goes off the rails at the end but I'm sure that Esso Oil was grateful for the free advertising. Mention must be made of Alexander Knox who navigates the psychobabble and delivers his customarily solid performance.
Whether Losey had a choice of composer for this is debatable but unlike most of his films in which the music is extremely irritating, Malcolm Arnold's powerful score here is spot on and aids the film immeasurably whilst Harry Waxman is a good choice as cinematographer, having previously shot 'Brighton Rock'.
This opus might not have represented the most auspicious start to the Losey/Bogarde collaboration but they could only get better and with the notable exception of 'Modesty Blaise', they most certainly did.
Alexander Knox, Dirk Bogarde, and Alexis Smith provide fascinating, if maybe a little over-the-top, characterizations in The Sleeping Tiger
tavm11 July 2012
If you've been reading under my username, you probably know about my reviewing various players from the original "Dallas" in previous movies/TV appearances in chronological order for the past several weeks. So it is here that I'm commenting on a performance of one Alexis Smith-who would eventually play the crazy Lady Jessica Montford on the soap-who plays someone who seems quite aloof in the beginning but becomes quite the opposite later on. Her character's name is Glenda Esmond who's married to a Dr. Clive Esmond (Alexander Knox). This psychiatrist takes home a Frank Clemmons (Dirk Bogarde) who tried to mug him and he attempts to rehabilitate him. Director Joseph Losey (working under the name Victor Hanbury since he was blacklisted at the time) seems to rush things as the picture goes on but it's fascinating to watch the three main characters go through the changes with each revelation that gets piled on throughout. I'm not saying that I believe it when those changes come but it's pretty entertaining when they happen. So on that note, The Sleeping Tiger is worth a look.
One-Trick Cyclist
writers_reign12 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Several ironies are involved here not least the two irons playing heterosexual lovers, then there's the writer, Daniel Frye, who was really two other people, first Carl Foreman, who wrote the original treatment and Harold Buchman who gave it a buff job and finally there's director Victor Hanbury, in reality Joseph Losey who, like the two writers had been 'blacklisted' in the states and was thus obliged to work under a John Doe. In 1954 average filmgoers in England cared only that a given film provided ninety minutes of divertisment; terms like 'blacklist', 'HUAC', 'Hollywood Ten' 'Unfriendly Witness' and the like were never mentioned in the film magazines of the day; Picturegoer and Picture Show were little more than PR for the studios, a mixture of painless, positive reviews for even the most banal movie and studio-supplied puffs on the private lives of the stars and upcoming films so that the average film-goer would bask in the knowledge that Alexis Smith was firmly married and Dirk Bogarde a babe magnet who implicitly slept with his pick of the Rank Charm School as and when it suited him. The film itself is pure, undiluted tosh that wouldn't stand scrutiny beneath a Toc H light-bulb let alone a strong light but it is watchable even after a half century.
Made in England by Blacklisted Joseph Losey
blanche-22 May 2010
Joseph Losey went to England to escape the blacklist and worked under an assumed name. He was an excellent director, but this isn't up to his usual standards.
The Sleeping Tiger is a low-budget film that Losey wanted Dirk Bogarde to star in, and Bogarde obliged. The two would go on to do some marvelous work together later.
A psychiatrist, Dr. Clive Esmond (Alexander Knox) takes young criminal Frank Clemmons (Bogarde) into his home as an experiment to see if he can reform him. One look at Bogarde, and we know it's going to be uphill all the way, especially since he still moonlights committing robberies.
Esmond's bored wife (Alexis Smith) becomes involved with Frank. Will the good doctor find out? Will the good doctor find out that Frank is still a crook? Will his wife and Frank run off together?
This thing is a hodge-podge containing a lot of psychobabble. Bogarde, at the time a huge matinée idol in England, gives an excellent performance as a bad boy, something he was always good at. He went through the early part of his career alternating between romantic leads and snake charmers.
Finally, he settled into a series of strong roles, first in the controversial film "Victim," and then in more artistic projects directed by Liliana Cavani, Losey, and Visconti.
Alexis Smith's role isn't terribly fleshed out, nor do we know a great deal about the character's marriage.
For me, seeing Bogarde is always worth it, but this film is kind of a mess.
Very uneven and cheap looking. Better Losey can be found in "The Servant" and "Accident," both of which star Bogarde.
The Sleeping Tiger is a low-budget film that Losey wanted Dirk Bogarde to star in, and Bogarde obliged. The two would go on to do some marvelous work together later.
A psychiatrist, Dr. Clive Esmond (Alexander Knox) takes young criminal Frank Clemmons (Bogarde) into his home as an experiment to see if he can reform him. One look at Bogarde, and we know it's going to be uphill all the way, especially since he still moonlights committing robberies.
Esmond's bored wife (Alexis Smith) becomes involved with Frank. Will the good doctor find out? Will the good doctor find out that Frank is still a crook? Will his wife and Frank run off together?
This thing is a hodge-podge containing a lot of psychobabble. Bogarde, at the time a huge matinée idol in England, gives an excellent performance as a bad boy, something he was always good at. He went through the early part of his career alternating between romantic leads and snake charmers.
Finally, he settled into a series of strong roles, first in the controversial film "Victim," and then in more artistic projects directed by Liliana Cavani, Losey, and Visconti.
Alexis Smith's role isn't terribly fleshed out, nor do we know a great deal about the character's marriage.
For me, seeing Bogarde is always worth it, but this film is kind of a mess.
Very uneven and cheap looking. Better Losey can be found in "The Servant" and "Accident," both of which star Bogarde.
"I think he's frightened under that hard shell of his...
planktonrules31 August 2016
"The Sleeping Tiger" is a film so flawed by its premise that no matter how good the picture is, it is automatically cursed to be second- rate. Think about it...a thug with a gun breaks into a psychiatrist's home and the doctor then invites the criminal to live in his home! The only way this MIGHT have worked had they made there a latent homosexual undertone to all this. But there wasn't and the film often makes no sense at all!
Dirk Bogarde plays the crook, Frank, and he plays him very well. This is no surprise, as Bogarde played many sociopathic creeks and played them well during this era. He does his best with the material. As for Alexis Smith, her character as the Doc's wife is terrible--and clichéd. And, the husband, played by Alexander Knox, is the worst of all...a man who makes himself a virtual eunuch in his own home!
The bottom line is that while the film has its moments, the plot is simply hopeless and a couple dumb characters make it all the worse. You could do a lot better and I'd recommend you try some of Bogarde's better written sociopath films such as "Cast a Dark Shadow".
Dirk Bogarde plays the crook, Frank, and he plays him very well. This is no surprise, as Bogarde played many sociopathic creeks and played them well during this era. He does his best with the material. As for Alexis Smith, her character as the Doc's wife is terrible--and clichéd. And, the husband, played by Alexander Knox, is the worst of all...a man who makes himself a virtual eunuch in his own home!
The bottom line is that while the film has its moments, the plot is simply hopeless and a couple dumb characters make it all the worse. You could do a lot better and I'd recommend you try some of Bogarde's better written sociopath films such as "Cast a Dark Shadow".
Smoldering sex-o-drama
BILLYBOY-1011 December 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Alexis Smith, wife of busy psychiatrist-psychoanalyst-psychotherapist Alexander Knox is sexually frustrated because she is a hot, steamy 33 year old and he's older, and not hot. One day, hubby brings home a young thug, Dirk Bogarde, to rehabilitate who is also hot & steamy and immediately you know the two are going to make steamy together, which of course they do after riding horses and getting all steamed up.
Much scenery chewing and steaming later, hubby makes a breakthrough with Dirk regarding mommy, daddy & step-mommy issues and Dirk feels so guilty about steaming it up with his wife that he tells her it's through..over..finished..kaput and leaves the house to start out a new improved life of his own. Well, Alexis ain't taking this sitting down so she jumps in her car, gets him to climb in. Hubby gives chase in his car and several sharp curves and speedometers later, Alexis crashes thru a fence and over an embankment, the car turns over, it's wheels dramatically spinning and Alexis, the wife, is dead Dirk however is alive and the camera pans to the hole in the fence where they crashed thru. Above the hole is a huge poster of a leaping tiger. Ah hah. The movie title of course is Sleeping Tiger and it ends with a leaping tiger. Get it? The tiger! Wow. The End. I liked this movie because it was 50's black and white British and simple, predictable & plausible. Interesting Dirk is suppose to be younger than Alexis and he does look kid like and she is sort of matronly older looking but according to IMDb he was actually 3 months younger than she. I'm gonna give it six points cause it didn't bore me.
Much scenery chewing and steaming later, hubby makes a breakthrough with Dirk regarding mommy, daddy & step-mommy issues and Dirk feels so guilty about steaming it up with his wife that he tells her it's through..over..finished..kaput and leaves the house to start out a new improved life of his own. Well, Alexis ain't taking this sitting down so she jumps in her car, gets him to climb in. Hubby gives chase in his car and several sharp curves and speedometers later, Alexis crashes thru a fence and over an embankment, the car turns over, it's wheels dramatically spinning and Alexis, the wife, is dead Dirk however is alive and the camera pans to the hole in the fence where they crashed thru. Above the hole is a huge poster of a leaping tiger. Ah hah. The movie title of course is Sleeping Tiger and it ends with a leaping tiger. Get it? The tiger! Wow. The End. I liked this movie because it was 50's black and white British and simple, predictable & plausible. Interesting Dirk is suppose to be younger than Alexis and he does look kid like and she is sort of matronly older looking but according to IMDb he was actually 3 months younger than she. I'm gonna give it six points cause it didn't bore me.
Dark psychology
Leofwine_draca17 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
THE SLEEPING TIGER is another vehicle for dark star Dirk Bogarde, who once again plays a ne'er-do-well character who proves irresistable to straight-laced women of the era. He finds himself holed up at the home of a psychiatrist and his frustrated wife, the latter with whom he begins the usual torrid affair. This film goes down the psychological path, which means there's little in the way of incident to enjoy, just the usual character "insights" and heated dialogue. The performances are fine, but I found the script a little lacklustre and drawn-out, taking ages to get to the admittedly impressive climax.
search for innovative cinema
PADRAEG17 October 2001
The "Tiger" makes out
sol-kay14 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS** Bizarre yet interesting psycho analysis movie that's still miles ahead of similar films made around that time, 1945-54, that deals with the complexities of the human mind.
In "The Sleeping Tiger" Dr. Clive Esmond, Alexander Knox, an expert at hand-to-hand combat during his time in the military disarms petty criminal Frank Clemmons, Dirk Bogarde, who attempted to mug him. Instead of having Clemmons arrested and put behind bars Dr,Esmond takes Clemmons home, making him his personal houseboy, to study and at the same time cure him of his criminal tendencies. Arrogant and unrepentant Clemmons never at first appreciates what the good doctor is doing for him. It's when he meets Doc. Esmond's wife Glenda, Alexis Smith, that something clicks in his brain that has him try to make a play for her. What's even more bizarre is that Glenda, who at first couldn't stand the sight of him, starts to slowly gravitate to and fall for the somewhat rude and violent Clemmons!
Making himself at home the first person that Clemmons targets with his wrath is the house maid Sally Foster, Patricia McCarron, who ends up running for her life and away from the Esmond house after he maliciously ruins her clothes by pouring the contents of an ink bottle on them. With an enforced curfew on him by Dr. Esmond Clemmons still sneaks out at night and together with his friend Harry, Harry Towb, breaks into and robs a local jewelry store. Still breaking curfew Clemmons spends most nights, when he's supposed to be at the Esmond residence, at the anything goes Metro Club in the Soho District of London! While all this is happening Glenda starts to go bananas over the free living and fun loving, in doing his "thing" at the expense of everyone else, Clemmons where she plans to leave her husband and take off, into the wild blue yonder, with him!
***SPOILERS*** Even though it didn't seem to at first Dr. Esmond's experiment on Clemmons started to gets results. Not just in Clemmons becoming a normal and productive human being but him suddenly realizing that Glenda is a far bigger fruitcake then he ever was! It's in her putting on an act of how normal and proper she was Glenda was really concealing the fact in what a very disturbed and self-destructive woman she really is.
The final revelation to just how nuts Glenda was is when Clemmons, now trying to get as far away from her as possible, decided to brake up with her. This pushed the panic button in Glenda's paranoid brain who in revenge for what Clemmons did to her, dropping her like a hot potato, makes up a fake and malicious story to her husband, the good doctor, that he both beat and even tried to rape her! What Glenda didn't quite realize his that her husband was on to all all the time and used Clemmons to bring out her paranoid and insane fantasies! Which in the end backfired on him by underestimating just how crazy she really was!
In "The Sleeping Tiger" Dr. Clive Esmond, Alexander Knox, an expert at hand-to-hand combat during his time in the military disarms petty criminal Frank Clemmons, Dirk Bogarde, who attempted to mug him. Instead of having Clemmons arrested and put behind bars Dr,Esmond takes Clemmons home, making him his personal houseboy, to study and at the same time cure him of his criminal tendencies. Arrogant and unrepentant Clemmons never at first appreciates what the good doctor is doing for him. It's when he meets Doc. Esmond's wife Glenda, Alexis Smith, that something clicks in his brain that has him try to make a play for her. What's even more bizarre is that Glenda, who at first couldn't stand the sight of him, starts to slowly gravitate to and fall for the somewhat rude and violent Clemmons!
Making himself at home the first person that Clemmons targets with his wrath is the house maid Sally Foster, Patricia McCarron, who ends up running for her life and away from the Esmond house after he maliciously ruins her clothes by pouring the contents of an ink bottle on them. With an enforced curfew on him by Dr. Esmond Clemmons still sneaks out at night and together with his friend Harry, Harry Towb, breaks into and robs a local jewelry store. Still breaking curfew Clemmons spends most nights, when he's supposed to be at the Esmond residence, at the anything goes Metro Club in the Soho District of London! While all this is happening Glenda starts to go bananas over the free living and fun loving, in doing his "thing" at the expense of everyone else, Clemmons where she plans to leave her husband and take off, into the wild blue yonder, with him!
***SPOILERS*** Even though it didn't seem to at first Dr. Esmond's experiment on Clemmons started to gets results. Not just in Clemmons becoming a normal and productive human being but him suddenly realizing that Glenda is a far bigger fruitcake then he ever was! It's in her putting on an act of how normal and proper she was Glenda was really concealing the fact in what a very disturbed and self-destructive woman she really is.
The final revelation to just how nuts Glenda was is when Clemmons, now trying to get as far away from her as possible, decided to brake up with her. This pushed the panic button in Glenda's paranoid brain who in revenge for what Clemmons did to her, dropping her like a hot potato, makes up a fake and malicious story to her husband, the good doctor, that he both beat and even tried to rape her! What Glenda didn't quite realize his that her husband was on to all all the time and used Clemmons to bring out her paranoid and insane fantasies! Which in the end backfired on him by underestimating just how crazy she really was!
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