It's hard to think of a noir that has a more twisted ending than *Nora Prentiss*. The setup towards the tragic ending of the main protagonist creates a world where normality both disarms the audience for what's to come while also building the tension that creates the environment for the "good" doctor to make the desperate decisions that lead to his most unfortunate climax.
As captivating as Ann Sheridan's character can be, there was no way for Dr. Talbot to foresee just how surreal his life would become by falling so head over heels for her. It's the contrast between his familiar life of being a respected doctor and transforming into a prisoner in his self constructed cell that makes the film so captivating.
However, it's the specific way the film ends that makes the film uncanny. The depths of despair Dr. Talbot feels for the way he handled the whole affair make it a film noir of the most tragic proportions.
It's also a film where the "femme fatale" is the male character, even though he didn't set out to be one from the start. His madness for Nora and the serendipitous run-in with his patient, played by John Ridgely (the colorful side character Eddie Mars in *The Big Sleep*), create a situation where deceitful improvisation becomes the architecture for this unexpected and far-from-typical Hollywood ending.
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