The 1947 Blogathon: "Nightmare Alley"
Theatrical release poster Directed by Edmund Goulding, Nightmare Alley (1947) tells the story of Stanton "Stan" Carlisle (Tyrone Power), an ambitious and amoral carnival barker who engages in every imaginable deceit necessary to get ahead. Fascinated by everything there, particularly a grotesque geek, Stan works with Zeena (Joan Blondell), a phony psychic who performs a mind-reading act with her alcoholic husband Pete (Ian Keith). Sparking a romance with Zeena, Stan tries to convince her to develop a new mind-reading routine with him, using a secret code that once made Pete and her a top vaudeville act. Zeena declines, only to reconsider after Pete is killed when he drinks a quart of wood alcohol accidentally given to him by Stan. Mean whi le , the carnies discover that Stan has been secretly involved with Molly (Coleen Gray), a naïve young girl who specializes in a sideshow attraction in which she appears to be infused with thousands of bolts of electricity. Aft...