The Sign of the Ram (1948)

The Sign of the Ram (1948). 1h 24m | Approved

“Susan Peters stars as a mentally imbalanced matriarch of a rich English family. As part of the back story, you learn that the man of the house, Mallory (Alexander Knox), remarried a very young woman, Leah (Peters). Shortly after the marriage, Leah is severely injured in an accident and she is paralyzed. On the outside, she is a very happy and well-adjusted woman despite her being stuck in a wheelchair. However, very slowly during the course of the film you start to see that there is a hidden malevolence–a malevolence that is manipulative and just plain nasty. But, because she does all this cleverly, it takes folks a long time to realize what a horrid person she has become. See it yourself to see how wicked she becomes as well as what comes of all this.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is an interesting film because in real life, Peters really was wheelchair-bound. A short time before making u0026quot;The Sign of the Ramu0026quot;, she was accidentally shot and could no longer walk. This Columbia picture is the first and last film she made following her tragic accident. Even more tragic is what happened to Petersu0026#39; life in the subsequent years.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs for the film itself, itu0026#39;s got a great setup and the first 85% of it captured my attention very well. It was a great idea and was a bit reminiscent of u0026quot;Leave Her to Heavenu0026quot;–another film about a VERY twisted wife who manipulates and kills to get what she wants. Unfortunately, the resolution to the film seemed to come much too prematurely and although good, the ending COULD have been much better. Good but a bit lacking.”