A Woman's Vengeance (1948)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

hyped garbage

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The very annoying Emily (Rachel Kempson) is not in good health. Thankfully, she dies. However, her death is treated suspiciously and number one suspect is husband Henry (Charles Boyer). He doesn't help matters by immediately marrying 18 year old Doris (Ann Blyth) who he has been having an affair with for a few months.This film has a good cast, especially Jessica Tandy as Henry's friend "Janet", Cedric Hardwick as "Dr Libbard" and Mildred Natwick as "Nurse Braddock". Boyer is good but Blyth is very irritating in a Shirley Temple kind of way. The film drags whenever she is on screen.The film has many good scenes, eg, when Janet and Henry are in the house sheltering from a violent storm - the use of German Expressionism in this scene (the use of darkness and lightning) will tell you all you need to know. Similarly, another good scene is when Janet visits Henry the day before his execution (the way the scene is framed will stick in your mind). And the scenes between Janet and Dr Libbard towards the end of the film are crammed with tension. I found that the film also had a particularly good moment of philosophical dialogue when Henry verbalized his acceptance of death to Doris. You will, no doubt, guess who the guilty party is from the beginning but it's still a good film to watch again.

WOMAN'S VENGEANCE, A ('47 UNIV) Dir: Zoltan Korda Critique: Jessica Tandy, fresh from her Broadway role as the original Blanche du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in the same year gives the greatest performance of her film career, and one of the greatest, measured by any standard in film history, in Aldous Huxley's brilliant, exceptionally intelligent and literate screenplay from his own "The Giaconda Smile." Tandy, who was unfortunately relegated to secondary roles for the rest of her career until she won an academy award near the end of her life for "Driving Miss Daisy" ('89) is a 35 year-old spinster (!) whose love is spurned by charming but callous philanderer, Charles Boyer, brilliant in his role as the object of Tandy's vengeance. The two stars are backed up by an outstanding cast, especially the cerebral Cedric Hardwicke as the kindly, understanding and extremely perceptive doctor who, in a scene of mesmerizing brilliance, ultimately draws out of Tandy the grim truth about the guilt or innocence of Boyer, who is condemned to death for the murder of his wife. Zoltan Korda, of the illustrious film family, directed this (his) masterpiece, with beautiful chiaroscuro photography by Russell Metty and a fine, understated score by Miklos Rozsa.Marc Feldman 2-4-05

This film noir gem spins the tale of romance, unrequited love and revenge that conspire to frustrate a spinster in her pursuit of a man. The romance involves the man's dalliances with an attractive girl and the unrequited love is the bitter fruit of the spinster's quest to capture the man for herself. The revenge plays out its part in due course as the triangle emerges with malevolent undercurrents taking shape. The cast is excellent, especially Jessica Tandy and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, with Charles Boyer caught in the middle by the eager, determined females. Ann Blyth marries her suave suitor and sets in motion the cold fury of the spurned woman who can only watch as her dreams of happiness are dashed. The black and white camera work has a brooding quality and gives the film a classic film noir look.

Henry Maurier (Boyer) is an arrogant wealthy Englishman married to Emily who is both sickly and shrewish. Doris (Blyth) is his much younger mistress. The Maurier's also have a woman friend named Janet Spence (Tandy) who has always loved Maurier. When Emily is poisoned, suspicion falls on Henry and there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence against him. The script, by Aldous Huxley, is extremely literate and the movie is a pleasure to watch. Courtroom fans will also enjoy the capably executed inquest and trial scenes.