The Madonna's Secret (1946)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Admirable film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Francis Lederer is a successful painter who uses Linda Stirling as a model, but only her body, the face is that of a model from a previous life in France. That model ended up murdered, but Lederer was cleared all of charges, and he moved to the US with his mother. After Stirling begs him to paint her face too, he does. And she ends up murdered as well, in a similar fashion as the French model. Theater columnist Edward Ashley knows about Lederer's past and points the police to him, but they can't make a case. Stirling's sister Ann Rutherford tries to investigate and becomes a model for Lederer herself. Meanwhile a portrait hanging in a gallery has attracted the attention of wealthy socialite Gail Patrick. But when Lederer refuses to sell it to her, she gets him to paint her portrait. The murders are not yet done...This movie is a competent Republic noir/mystery, that has a slight Gothic feel to it due to the painting angle. Lederer does a nice mentally tormented artist, and Rutherford is great, backed by a solid cast. The story is nothing too special, and neither is the identity of the killer (the suspect pool is rather shallow), but the movie isn't dull, altho it is a bit talky in parts... And it has a memorable torch singer meets knife-throwing act scene at a nightclub. That lady has nerves of steel!The DoP for this movie was John Alton. Needless to say this movie looks the part (helped by the great looking print I saw). Beautiful shadows, coming from all angles, but also done tastefully and subtly. Director William Thiele does a nice job too, and the cast & crew make this a movie that rises above its Republic standard. Good stuff, recommended! 7/10

Francis Lederer (James) is an artist with poor temperament, you know, prima donna style. He paints girlfriends who end up dead. This doesn't go un-noticed by Edward Ashley (John) who works with the police to get Lederer convicted of murder. One problem though - is Lederer actually guilty? You know something is wrong in this film when Lederer invites Ann Rutherford (Linda) to his birthday party.......and the only other guest is his MOTHER! Yeah - that's normal for a young man. The cast are fine although the women are all given slightly irritating dialogue. Lederer is a good main focus for the film which ticks along but I'm afraid that's all it does - tick along.The title refers to a painting which has a significance once the plot is understood and the idea behind the story will, no doubt, be familiar. However, despite a few slow patches, the film is OK. I have to add that my enjoyment of the film was hampered by the very poor sound quality of the film that I watched, although I am not sure whether or not this is due to my source of purchase.

This film noir started out on a rather interesting note, as a theater critic becomes fascinated with the model in a painting and tries to track her down. The central mystery involves the mysterious death of the model of a brooding painter, but I can't say the ending was any sort of surprise.The problem is that once the story gets going, it just doesn't have much to do. This 90-minute movie could have been cut to an hour without losing anything. The movie also suffers from indifferent dialog and plotting (one key character disappears entirely about halfway through the film).It's a pretty nice looking movie and the acting isn't bad, but it just lacks anything to set it above any other B movie.

A step above normal film-noir from low budget studio, Republic. Francis Lederer is a painter who is haunted by the memory of his murdered fiancée. All his new work is now finished with the face of the dead woman. When a new model of Lederer's is murdered the police grab him up for a chat. After a bout of 3rd degree they let him go for lack of proof. Then another woman turns up dead and Lederer is the prime suspect. Of course the man is being set up. By his own mother no less! It seems she believes none of the women measure up to her standards. Though there is a bit of heavy going in the odd spot, the film does have some rewards for the viewer. The cast does rise above the story and the look of the film is quite good. Lederer, Ann Rutherford, Gail Patrick and serial queen Linda Stirling are all good in this low-renter. Then we have director of photography John Alton providing his usual assortment of shadows for just the right atmosphere. Director William Thiele is best known for a couple of the lesser Tarzan movies, TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY and TARZAN TRIUMPHS. A decent time-waster for the noir crowd.