La mujer del muerto

I try to see the movies directed by the english director Basil Dearden, and I didn't regret this "Cage of gold" from 1950, real pure thriller. David Farrar as the blackmailer is outstanding (the phone scene), and Jean Simmons is real great as the victim. There are some scenes shot in Paris, it isn't mentioned on imdb's filming locations, but we can see the Arch of Triumph, place de l'Opéra, place Vendôme. And in the casting in the french scenes, we can recognize a future great french singer. Another Basil Dearden must see.

I am so used to seeing David Farrar as an army or police officer that it was quite a shock to see him as a rather nasty blackmailer and smuggler.Though clearly Jean Simmons prefers him to the rather more sober and down to earth James Donald.However Farrar runs off to Paris as he doesn't want a quiet married life and his wife is not able to support him in the manner to which he is accustomed.From then on the story is fairly familiar territory.It is entertaining but utterly predictable.Much of the climatic action takes place in a pea souper in London,the type of which used to kill thousands of people over the years.In fact given the uncertainty of the murderer before the end you might have guessed that the fog killed him!

David Farrar always looked the solid dependable type, making him all the more credible as an amoral confidence trickster that women would be taken in by. Jean Simmons is very good as his main victim, and it is remarkable that in actual fact there was a twenty year gap in their ages. Douglas Slocombe's monochrome photography is superb. Main weakness occurs toward the end with the narrative becoming contrived almost to the point of absurdity. Interesting to see that at this point the older doctor was still allowed to own a handgun legally, albeit with a licence, something that has not been the case in the UK for very many years.

Ealing Equals Quality. Basil Dearden does it again with depressing noir ahead of its time. Like Pool Of London, it bravely broaches taboos ten or more years before most film-makers.

David Farrar was in some danger of being typecast as something of a cad around this time (Black Narcissus and 'Gone to Earth') and he puts in a good performance as usual here. There are also good supporting roles from some other stalwart actors.

But really this is Jean Simmons' film; she has a more rounded role here and to some folk she could do no wrong on the silver screen.

This movie wasn't all that well received when it first came out and in hindsight it isn't that easy to see why; maybe expectations were set too highly or something. It is a little slow-paced perhaps, but as others have pointed out it surely deserves a better score here than it has at present; most films with that ranking are stinking the place up something rotten and this film is certainly not in that category.

Well worth watching, especially if you like Jean Simmons; a solid 7/10 from me.