When The Shrike opened on Broadway on January 15, 1952, it received praise from the public and critics alike. Most reviews focused on the compelling nature of the drama as well as the outstanding staging and performances, most notably, that of José Ferrer as Jim. Newsweek praised its "racking tension and suspense" while Time noted its "scary blend of theatricalism and truth" and proclaimed it to be a "relentless, gripping theater piece." Richard McLaughlin, writing for Theatre Arts, argued, "the story of a man trapped in an asylum by a carnivorous wife has its grim appeal in a time when social tensions make almost all of us potentials for the psychiatric ward." Henry Hewes in the Saturday Review proclaimed that one of the play's "finest moments is a stripping bare of our society's norms." Brooks Atkinson in the New York Times raved, "the production and performance are...