The theremin player doesn't get a credit. Is it Dr. Hoffman again?

Count the Hours! isn't as interesting or as enjoyable as The Pretender but it has some things going for it. The acting is mostly lousy and the movie is dull in spots.

But the story, about an innocent man getting the death penalty for a murder, brings out some unusual elements. Director Don Siegel has an apparent interest in humanity's less worthy, less admirable, more frightening traits.

And so once again due process is abandoned, your supposedly good American citizens turn out to be vicious, horrible people, the world is divided into predators and prey, self-interest governs the actions of almost everybody. Doing what's right is a self-destructive act.

The music is generally tedious and generic. The theremin is the only thing going for it and it's used very effectively. It's the only thing likely to engage your ears.

Much of this movie appears to have been shot on location, which likely presented some challenges for cinematographer John Alton. He works wonders with light and shadow, as always. Many of the compositions are claustrophobic and make use of low or high angles.

The first scene shows the murder, more or less from the killer's point of view, without revealing the identity of the killer. The camera roams around a bit, creeping up to the house and generally conveying a sense of menace.

When the killer opens the front door we cut to inside of the house where the opening door startlingly blacks out the whole screen for a moment.