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Nightmare Alley

Play trailer Poster for Nightmare Alley 1947 1h 51m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
87% Tomatometer 63 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Roustabout Stanton Carlisle joins a traveling carny and unsuccessfully schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband, Pete. But when Pete dies, Zeena is forced to take on Stanton as a partner, and he quickly proves more gifted than his predecessor. Ambitious to a fault, Carlisle abandons Zeena and the carny to reinvent himself as The Great Stanton, wowing high-class audiences in a Chicago hotel.

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Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley

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Critics Consensus

Playing against type with Nightmare Alley, Tyrone Power and Edmund Goulding deliver some of their best work in a carnival-set noir unafraid to showcase true despair.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker Jul 6, 2022
The material... is unusual and the cast first-rate. Go to Full Review Mildred Martin Philadelphia Inquirer Dec 7, 2021
If Nightmare Alley isn't precisely tasty entertainment, at least it has been colorfully and harshly set forth with better than average character sketches lending it a certain unsavory interest and morbid fascination. Go to Full Review Helen Bower Detroit Free Press Dec 7, 2021
All together the film has a great deal of accumulative impact. It is a thoroughly unpleasant, but salutary picture. It should pull both potential dupes and the potentially ruthless up good and short. Go to Full Review Noah Berlatsky Splice Today Sep 8, 2026
The film retains a queasy kick, not least in its oscillating uncertainty about whether to love or despise its smooth, beautiful leading man for his smoothness, his beauty, and his ambition. Go to Full Review Sarah Vincent Sarah G Vincent Views Jun 9, 2024
The 1947 film surpasses del Toro’s with the possibility of multiple bleak endings. While Dr. Ritter’s motives are inscrutable, her psychoanalysis cover story explicitly alludes to the title and makes a credible argument for Stanton being delusional. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Nov 18, 2023
It’s a disreputable pulp noir with an A budget and it straddles the chasm between sleaze and class, thanks to the vivid cinematography by Lee Garmes and the oddly interesting miscasting of studio stalwart Edmund Goulding as director. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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B P @Bradster69 Sep 9, 2026 Definitely Recommend It See more Daniel B @DHBMOVIEGUY Jun 14, 2026 Absolutely Great Film! Tyrone is fantastic in his best performance of a career that tragically ended for him with his death at only 44. The rest of the cast is great as well and an interesting and seedy movie.ad See more mark g @Mark_Alan_G. Jan 7, 2026 Wow, so ahead of it's time. Beautifully shot, well acted and innovative story. Now you see why so many of today's Hollywood greats were inspired by it. See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 Nov 25, 2025 The original and though I preferred the modern remake, this still stands up as a compelling character study. Great plot that runs the typical narrative arc and ends with a light and tender moment. Watched on DVD. See more Nelson M @Montanino Sep 30, 2025 A quirky little B movie that isn't for everybody but is an intriging look at human nature through the lens of societies misfits. See more Alec B @Alec97 Jan 10, 2024 A great use of the Noir style and Power should have played more villains. See more Read all reviews
Nightmare Alley

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Cast & Crew

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Edmund Goulding

Director

Tyrone Power

Stanton Carlisle

Joan Blondell

Zeena Krumbein

Coleen Gray

Molly

Ian Keith

Pete Krumbein

Helen Walker

Dr. Lilith Ritter

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Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley (1947) Nightmare Alley (1947) Nightmare Alley (1947) Nightmare Alley (1947) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Roustabout Stanton Carlisle joins a traveling carny and unsuccessfully schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband, Pete. But when Pete dies, Zeena is forced to take on Stanton as a partner, and he quickly proves more gifted than his predecessor. Ambitious to a fault, Carlisle abandons Zeena and the carny to reinvent himself as The Great Stanton, wowing high-class audiences in a Chicago hotel.
Director
Edmund Goulding
Producer
George Jessel
Screenwriter
Jules Furthman
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 1947, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 51m
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