By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Irving Rapper
Starring: Bette Davis | Emlyn Williams | Gary Merrill
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 1951
Running time: 90
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044364
Thom says: ” When some 20 years ago I started a must-see list for actors, the first actor I added to the list was Bette Davis, and upon doing so I realized that there were actually dozens of her films I’d never seen. So I started collecting her movies, especially the ones I couldn’t find in the DVD rental stores that were so popular at the time, or at the library, or on NetFlix when that came along. By the way, I eventually became as enamored with Joan Crawford, & Barbara Stanwyck, so I had quite a collection. But, this was one I never was able to locate so when it magically appeared on http://www.amazon.prime for free I flipped out. That isn’t to say I might not have liked the film because all her films aren’t high-level, but you could invariably expect a great performance from her, always elevating the film to a new level. Director Rapper was responsible for some seriously great films like NOW, VOYAGER; THE CORN IS GREEN; & THE GLASS MENAGERIE, but one of his last films was the wretched THE CHRISTINE JORGENSEN STORY, but he had worked well with the diva in past films. Here Davis plays Janet Frobisher Preston a successful mystery writer who lives in a remote estate, who also happens to be a murderer (shades of Anne Perry). A strange man (George Bates, Gary Merrill, her actual husband at the time) arrives to interrupt her loneliness. He insinuates himself into Janet’s life through a set of unusual circumstances, although they both loathe each other, and both continue to espouse a pack-of-lies. Janet’s secretary arrives with her fiancée, who’s having a lurid affair with Janet. There’s also a nosy neighbour who not only manages to figure everything out but deal the final blow as well. Bette Davis made 3 films with her then husband, one the Classic ALL ABOUT EVE, & PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER, Gary Merrill, and one could write a college thesis on the history of their relationship during the few years of seeing each other day & night. Here Davis looks a little tired but her overacting is marvelous fun, you can’t take your eyes off her. 4.5 cats“