Die seltsame Liebe der Martha Ivers (1946)

Die seltsame Liebe der Martha Ivers: Directed by Lewis Milestone. With Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas. A man is reunited with his childhood friend and her husband, who believe he knows the truth about the death of her rich aunt years earlier.

“This is a well-written, well-acted, thoroughly absorbing film noir. The always-great Barbara Stanwyck is at her sultriest as Martha, and Van Heflin is incredibly sexy and masculine as Sam. Watching this movie, you wouldnu0026#39;t think Kirk Douglas, who plays the weak-willed, alcoholic Walter, would soon become a bigger star than Heflin and play the tough, romantic hero parts like Sam Masterson. Douglas excelled at those parts, as he did with a very different type of part in this movie, but I canu0026#39;t help thinking that if Heflin had gotten more of those roles, he would have been just as big a star. Husky-voiced Lizabeth Scott rounds out the star foursome nicely as Toni, a wrong-side-of-the-tracks girl whou0026#39;s been burned by trusting the wrong men. This movie, more than most of its era, trades in shades of gray; the u0026quot;badu0026quot; characters, Martha and Walter, have reasons for the evil they do, while the u0026quot;goodu0026quot; characters, Sam and Toni, are no angels–heu0026#39;s a decorated war hero, but he makes his living by gambling and once killed a man in self-defense, while she just got out of jail. This complexity adds to the filmu0026#39;s interest. The film also provides a believable depiction of small-town life; itu0026#39;s realistic, no Bedford Falls. The flashback portraying several of the characters as teenagers has the spark of reality as well. Highly recommended.”