This Was a Woman (1948)

This Was a Woman: Directed by Tim Whelan. With Sonia Dresdel, Barbara White, Walter Fitzgerald, Cyril Raymond. A wife whose goal is power begins a game of manipulation that insidiously destroys her family.

“Sylvia Russel is akin to Harriet Craig ,one of Joan Crawfordu0026#39;s triumphs (1950) ; and Sonia Dresdelu0026#39;s impressive performance compares favorably with her American colleagueu0026#39;s.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSylvia is even more terrifying than Harriet: if eyes could kill ,hers certainly would.u0026quot;Motheru0026#39;s always watching us, her eyes are X rays u0026quot;. Sheu0026#39;s a monster , a mentally-ill person , a frustrated woman who hates mediocrity (represented by her meek husbandu0026#39;s world which consists of his dog and his roses),who wants power and uses the others as puppets .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSheu0026#39;s got everything to live a comfortable bourgeois life: her son and her son-in-law are both doctors .But a routine life does not satisfy her ,the coming of handsome Austin makes her even more destructive .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut it had begun before: a woman asking the vet to put a good old dog to sleep? A mother who warns her daughter against her husband? Who urges her maid to seduce her son-in-law by making her read u0026quot;lady Chatterleyu0026#39;s loveru0026quot;,a book forbidden in the UK till 1960 (an under-the- counter French edition : the novel was first tranferred to the screen by Yves Allégret in 1955 in this country ,but in a chaste way)?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSylvia gets her kicks by destroying her familyu0026#39;s life ; you should see her sweetly smile when she sees her u0026quot;poweru0026quot; on the others .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is first-rate film noir ; Sonia Dresdelu0026#39;s piercing eyes (when she watches her sick husband , they will give you the jitters)will haunt you after the viewing .Try to forget them!”