Conflict (1945)

That was an excellent one.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

While I do think this especially a well made film noir with a solid Humphrey Bogart performance, agonizing over the murder of his wife (he is in love with his wife's sister, and his desire for her trumps any rational/realistic expectation of how any of what he commits, murderous- wise, could result in a happy ending where the wife is out of the way so he can be with her), and how his conscience is unraveling him ("signs" of his wife start to appear; a handkerchief, scent of perfume, a possible sighting, a locket and name on a ledger at a pawn shop with ticket left in the mail at his firm, all items of her "re-emergence" which belts him on the kisser), "Conflict" does seem to be a bit hard to swallow. He knows he killed her; her body was in that car as he pushed it over the cliff. The woodpile of logs that pounded into a cover over it assured the vehicle's concealment. She was dead. So the supposed signs of her being alive should have instead told Bogie's architect that something was amiss. Sydney Greenstreet playing against type in a film such as this was a bonus thrill, though. His psychologist is a breath of fresh air in that what he says--referring to his extensive use of science in his profession--might be considered "cynical" but it has an alarming accuracy. In fact, the rich dialogue is quite mature and intellectually relevant even (if not especially) in the time we live. Like the view of marriage in a world where there are plenty of beauties that capture the lusts of older men, "trapped" in marriages with a wife their age, and the lingering urge to be free from it causing a reaction most unkind and unwarranted. I was afraid that Rose Hobart would be portrayed until her untimely demise at Bogie's hands as a shrew, demanding and irascible; this would encourage us to sympathize with why he might be so inclined to do her in. But she just understands him all too well, is completely aware of his designs on her sister, and quite confrontational with him on how she isn't just going to allow him to throw her to the wayside to go gallivanting elsewhere. The thing is, she loves him, and that is why his wife just doesn't let their marriage split apart. The telling anniversary party, where they must brush aside these volatile feelings and pretend that everything is okay if not grand--lays out the situation perfectly. Why must this marriage continue? Is it all a fraud, a facade? Well, it wasn't until Bogie decided he wanted her sister instead (played by Alexis Smith) that the marriage appear to be on the skids. Said to have irritated Bogie due to his similar situation (absent the killing on a mountain road), "Conflict" wasn't a favorite of his. But I think it holds up well; I especially like the final dialogue between Bogie and Greenstreet in his office as the theory of a tortured soul trusting another with what haunts him not coming to fruition undermines a freeing of the horrors of the conscience that wants to be rid of the corruption of the murder that happened. The sophisticated Warner Bros. presentation with its lighting/shadows, sets, photography, and art direction, "Conflict" is quite a studio melodrama, as music embodies what tensions exist inside the characters. Bogart is a treat to watch: he offers a lot even when he doesn't speak. But the rush of emotions when he admits to how much he loves Smith and her inability to comprehend this is what pure melodrama is all about. This is the kind of role that puts Bogart through the gamut, and because of the juice in it, he posits a dandy. His relaxing as the gig is up, and the use of a rose in how he is doomed ultimately just explains all too well how the perfect murder is rarely successful and the one committing it endures a weight almost too tough to carry. I think the weakness of the film is in the idea that Smith would be so close to her sister (and involved with a doctor of the mind like Greenstreet) and ever accept Bogart's love. Maybe he was consumed, but to throw it all away on something that might not be legit seems a bit far-fetched. However, true crime tells us not altogether impossible. How many successful men have had their wives bumped off so they could be with the secretary? The difference is that Smith and Bogart never were involved romantically...it was all one sided.

Great actors, great story, good pacing, however...there's something wrong with it. It doesn't deliver the whole way through. I don't know exactly what is wrong with Conflict, it just leaves me unsatisfied.It might be that the musical score - the usual highfaluting 40s score - is less suited for this kind of surrealistic psychological drama than for the other Bogart movies.It might be the dialogue, rather uninspiring, definitely neither Chandleresque nor Hitchcockesque.It might be the unconvincing love story between Bogart and his sister-in-law.Compare it to Spellbound and you'll get my point.

On their fifth wedding anniversary a man and wife find out their marriage is a big mistake, and he's convinced her sister is in love with him. If only he wasn't already married.....Since this is a thriller he does the logical thing and pushes his wife off a mountain cliff. But then he gets signs that she may still be alive. Is he losing his mind or is he just a sloppy killer? The whole movie hinges on the fact that the viewer must choose either option as being true. Unless there's a third option, and just about anybody who has ever seen or read a mystery story will figure out soon enough what that is. Oh yes, Sydney Greenstreet's character is a psychiatrist, now what on earth would that have to do with any of this? I wonder...... Apart from the rather obvious plot there's isn't much suspense to make this an effective thriller.Bogart's character seems more annoyed than scared by any of the strange goings-on, like finding his dead wife's jewelry in her safe. And when he finds out his wife's sister rejects him, so the whole murder was in vain he's more unpleasantly surprised than shocked. The ending can't really come as a surprise to anyone. This movie is not without merit, and Bogart and Greenstreet are worth seeing in any movie, but i had higher hopes for this.

Conflict (1945) *** (out of 4) Nice thriller about a husband (Humphrey Bogart) who murders his wife because he's in love with her younger sister (Alexis Smith). The husband is in a bad car wreck but he fakes how serious his injury is so he will have an alibi as to why he couldn't be the murderer but soon he starts seeing his wife and begins to fear he might not have killed her. I was pleasantly surprised to see how good this picture was even though some stronger direction would have helped matters. While watching the movie I was entertained every step of the way but at the same time I couldn't help but wonder what this would have been like with someone like Hitchcock behind the camera. What works best are the performances with Bogart leading the way and doing a very fine job in the role of the husband who slowly begins to crack once he realizes he might not have done a very good job in terms of his murder plot. Bogart manages to play the character's nerves quite well and makes the role very believable. Smith was also very good in her role bringing a certain type of innocence that really makes her register with the viewer. He own scenes of doubt over whether she should be falling for her sister's husband were well done. Sydney Greenstreet plays the friend/psychologist who tries to keep Bogart calm throughout the matter. Greenstreet's calm, nurturing voice certainly makes him perfect for the character. The screenplay also works very well as we're given two different mysteries to keep in our mind. The first being whether or not the wife is actually dead or is something more supernatural going on. The second is, if she's dead, will Bogie get away with it. This film really has a lot of elements of a horror film or at least the Val Lewton productions that were being made around this time. This film is quite dark and really fits into that genre so fans of the Lewton films will certainly want to check this out.