The 2nd Wilder directed a quirky suspense movie which has the trademarks of its author: beginning with Bromfield as a wicked scoundrel, the clubs, the beaches, Hawaii, late hours, and the jealousy—in this '55 movie, also in 'Manfish' from '56; except that here we get the glamorous side of a similar tale, with all the sordidness of the events, and with all the psychology and drama being left, alas, to
Bromfield, who was such an untalented player, and one would of enjoyed to see some class from at least one of the players. If the style is austere, cold though lively, sometimes awkward, the cast seems a bit of a motley crew, so that the story is sensibly well shown, but not very well acted.
The sleazy storyline is suspenseful, but the characters are unlikable. Martha wasn't a leading actress, she was one for supporting roles, and it shows. Her part here is a wealthy widow, in a situation opposite to the one in a movie she had made 6 yrs earlier, 'Alimony', where she was a fortune huntress, now she's the duped wealthy spouse instead, as a woman with an unfortunate life, who clings to life and to an illusory happiness, and the director thought this enough to explain her unawareness. Martha V. manages once more to avoid eliciting our sympathy; she was a mediocre actress. The role was tailored to make us care, but regardless (but then again, the fact that her character is expended shows perhaps she's not even supposed to be that likable).
The wealthy widow was from New York, her 3rd husband from Chicago, and they meet in California.
The sleazy storyline is suspenseful, but the characters are unlikable. Martha wasn't a leading actress, she was one for supporting roles, and it shows. Her part here is a wealthy widow, in a situation opposite to the one in a movie she had made 6 yrs earlier, 'Alimony', where she was a fortune huntress, now she's the duped wealthy spouse instead, as a woman with an unfortunate life, who clings to life and to an illusory happiness, and the director thought this enough to explain her unawareness. Martha V. manages once more to avoid eliciting our sympathy; she was a mediocre actress. The role was tailored to make us care, but regardless (but then again, the fact that her character is expended shows perhaps she's not even supposed to be that likable).
The wealthy widow was from New York, her 3rd husband from Chicago, and they meet in California.