Ils ne voudront pas me croire

Intricately plotted noir with one too many surprises for my book, but is still underrated. Nice guy Robert Young gets to break character and play a real heel for a change. He's not wicked, just weak, following his wife around because that's where the money is. He's about as faithful as a Tom cat in heat, but she's too dependent to care. Even his one noble gesture ends in a fiery crash.

Young looks the part of a married gigolo, all slicked down in fancy suits, sipping martinis in upscale bars. But then who could resist that luscious package Susan Hayward even if she is just an office girl with scheming ambition. Their gambits of conversation amount to little gems of carnal aggression. Pity poor wife Rita Johnson who's all business-like competence, but can hardly compete in the glamor department with either Hayward or the sultry Greer. The faithful stallion is, I guess, her consolation prize and an excellent touch. He's like the eye of fate watching from above the mountain pool in a meaningful moment that foreshadows the reckoning yet to come.

In passing-- I can't help noticing the true-love embrace of Hayward and Young washed clean now in the mountain lake and the similarly meaningful ocean scene of Garfield and Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice. The aftermaths look also suspiciously similar. Postman came out about six months earlier than this one, so draw your own conclusions.

Too bad director Pichel adds so little to the screenplay. Indeed, the story's strong enough to carry interest; still, he films in straightforward, unimaginative fashion. The cross-currents and conflicts, however, cry out for a stronger expressionistic approach, especially the waterfall and pool scenes. A better noir director like Siodmak or Lang could have deepened the visuals to complement the strong screenplay. Also, someone muffs the staging of the very last scene which comes across as incredible given the crowded courtroom and police guards. It also distracts from an interesting ambiguity-- is Young too weak to face a verdict or has he simply passed judgement on himself.

For those of us who remember the wholesome TV series Father Knows Best, seeing Young here takes some getting used to.

Great performances from the four leads make this noirish melodrama a stand-out. Cast against type, Robert Young gives one of his finest performances (far more interesting than that in Crossfire), subtly giving his role of philandering but strangely sympathetic heel a depth which may perhaps go by unnoticed by some. Rita Johnson, in the minimal screen time alloted her, is likewise able to intimate complexities of character which imbue her role of manipulative wife with a touching frailty.

The shortened re-release version (which I viewed in a colourized copy) has been cleverly edited to leave the plot intact, but with 15 minutes of cuts significant elements of character development (all-important in a film of this type) have been sacrificed. The deletion of part of the scene at Nicks dilutes the initial warmth of the relationship between the Young and Jane Greer characters. And a concert scene which shows up the petulant nature of the Susan Hayward character has been deleted altogether. Other elements deleted from the re-release print are some of the opening remarks made by Frank Ferguson, and some dialogue between Young and Hayward when they are in his car on the way to her apartment.

I'm not a fan of old movies, but I got up early this morning and intended to go back to bed. Something about this movie caught my eye, so I thought I'd watch a few minutes of it before heading back to bed. I ended up not going back to bed because I couldn't turn the tv off. I couldn't believe how interesting this story was! Despite another reviewer's comments, I found the main character to be flawed, but sympathetic. I wouldn't do the things he did, but I imagine someone out there would. He had everything going for him, but screwed it up, and hardly ever made the right move. I did find the end to be... strange, let's say. I can't imagine THAT happening in any year, 1947 or 2000, but otherwise, it's a great flick. If you like older movies, beautiful starletts, solid acting, and an interesting storyline, you shouldn't pass this movie up. I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Robert Young? In a noir? He's near his best here, though for me his best is "Lady Be Good," in which he seems to be having a truly great time.

Jane Greer looks luscious. Susan Hayward is very good -- though her best was "I Can Get It For You Wholesale." And Rita Johnson is good, in a different type of role from her usual.

The rise and fall and rise and fall of a womanizer.

It's well plotted, though slightly dull till the final five minutes. Then, the climax: No one who's ever seen this will forget it. (And I'm certainly not going to give it away.)

Robert Young plays a gigolo type on trial for murder. In flash back he tells his story, and things are not necessarily what they appear to be. Despite some criticisms accusing him of being miscast I thought Young was convincing enough and played the role well. Sure, Robert Mitchum or Dick Powell would have been preferable, but I didn't think it was that much of a problem. The three major women in Young's life are played by Susan Hayward, Rita Johnson, and my favourite Jane Greer (who subsequently co-starred with Robert Mitchum in two great films 'Out Of The Past' and 'The Big Steal' in the late 1940s). All three are very good. 'They Won't Believe Me' is a minor Noir picture, but is still entertaining enough. The most memorable thing about it is the unexpected shock ending, which would be too corny to pull off these days, but is very effective in the context of the movie. A much more interesting Robert Young picture from this era is 'Crossfire', in which he co-stars with Roberts Mitchum and Ryan. 'They Won't Believe Me' isn't as compelling as that, but it's worth watching.