CONNECTION TO PREVIOUS ENTRY: Eve Arden
SOURCE: Personal Collection, Warner Archive DVD
STARRING: Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott
CO-STARS: Eve Arden, Steven Geray, Jerome Cowan
DIRECTOR: Vincent Sherman
COMPOSER: Max Steiner
STUDIO: Warner Brothers
SUMMARY: Christine Hunter (Sheridan) arrives home late one night and is surprised at her door by an unseen assailant. The struggle moves inside, we hear her scream, and see silhouettes move across the large front windows as Christine and the man scuffle. Suddenly, the fight ends after Christine fatally stabs the man. The next morning, her husband Bob (Scott) arrives home to find the dead man’s body, the police and his traumatized wife. When she is questioned, Christine explains to the police that she was attacked by the man at her front door. He demanded her jewelry and then attacked her when she refused. Christine proclaims that she killed the man in self-defense. It seems like a open-and-shut case, except when it doesn’t. The police immediately poke holes in Christine’s story–one of their biggest sticking points being that a weapon was not found on the deceased man’s body.
Meanwhile, Martin Barrow, a shop owner (Steven Geray), contacts Christine’s friend and lawyer, Larry Hannaford (Lew Ayres), to tell him that he has something to show him at his shop. When Larry arrives, Barrow shows him a bust that he has available for sale. The bust is an exquisitely-detailed depiction of Christine’s face and shoulders and suggests that she would have needed to pose personally for the artist. The artist is revealed to be “Tanner” which matches the name the police found for the deceased man. It then comes out that Christine had an affair with “Tanner” while Bob was deployed overseas. This revelation puts Christine’s “self-defense” claim into jeopardy. Eve Arden plays Bob’s cousin Paula, a multiple-divorcee, and a surprising ally for Christine.
FAVORITE PART(S):
1) The silhouette fight scene between Ann Sheridan and the unseen man. This was a very suspenseful and exciting scene to start the film!
2) Eve Arden’s speech to Zachary Scott towards the end of the film. She steals the film. While her reasoning at times is absurd, it is all logical.
3) The scenes of “Angel’s Flight” in action in Los Angeles.
4) Eve Arden’s amazing Los Angeles apartment. I would live here in a heartbeat!
BEST QUOTE(S):
PAULA: Isn’t that Joan stupid? Poor dear, she’s just not smart enough to be an idiot.
PAULA (handing a cup of coffee to Bob): There you are. It (coffee) may not be good, but it’s strong.
BARROW: There is nothing more unpredictable than a husband betrayed.