They Won't Believe Me

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.)

They Won't Believe Me is directed by Irving Pichel and adapted to screenplay by Jonathan Latimer from a story by Gordon McDonell. It stars Robert Young, Susan Hayward, Jane Greer and Rita Johnson. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Harry J. Wild.

Larry Ballentine (Young) is on trial for murder and he tells his story in flashback. Three dames and fate does not a good mix make.

"She looked like a very special kind of dynamite, neatly wrapped in nylon and silk. Only I wasn't having any. I'd been too close to one explosion already. I was powder shy".

A splendid slice of noir drama is put together by a group of film makers who knew how to make the noir style of film making work. The story has all the requisite ingredients to lure the interested viewers in, twists and turns, vipers and snipers, dialogue so sharp you could cut a steak with it, and a love rat protagonist (Young splendid in a break from his normal roles) being toyed with by Old Noir Nick and his friend The Fate.

In true noir tradition the plot is a little "out there", the middle section drags at times, while Harry Wild's cinematography doesn't kick in till a good hour into the play (worth the wait though!). But this is a little noir treasure waiting to be seen by more people. It's not unknown, the cast list ensures that is not the case, but in film noir circles it doesn't often crop up for discussion. It should, for it's tricky and devilish and pays off with a finale straight out of noirville. 8/10

Robert Young as a philanderer - that should tip you off that "They Won't Believe Me" is going to be unusual. Before finding success as a warm dad and a kind doctor on television, Young often played romantic roles, earnest roles, or the uptight boss. Occasionally, though, the role of someone with a criminal mind would sneak in. Here, Young plays a man who marries a woman for her money and then cheats on her constantly - though he always goes back to the comforts of home. After dumping one woman, portrayed by Jane Greer, he picks up with a secretary in his securities firm, a young Susan Hayward - he leaves her, too, but has second thoughts. The result is a very interesting drama, told in flashback.

This is an excellent movie with a surprise ending that probably was insisted on to satisfy the code. The acting is very good all around. Young comes off as just slimy enough without being offensively so; Hayward's gold digger is glamorous, sexy, and conniving; and Jane Greer, in the most sympathetic role, looks fabulous and is her usual marvelous self as a woman who can't help loving this man, even with his flaws. Rita Johnson is very good as Young's attractive and determined wife.

All in all, I really enjoyed "They Won't Believe Me." Very entertaining.

Robert Young scores a real acting triumph playing against his nice guy Father Knows Best type to play a womanizer who fate deals a really tricky hand. The film is a combination of The Apartment and The Postman Always Rings Twice.

As in The Apartment where Fred MacMurray has the nice established front of the wife and kiddies and carries on with whomever in the office, Young is the outwardly happily married man whose got a real itch that needs scratching. He's scratching it with Jane Greer at the moment while he's married to Rita Johnson. Greer gets tired of the arrangement and gives Young the door. Young then takes up with the saucy office tramp Susan Hayward and in doing so takes her away from Tom Powers the boss.

I can't go any further except to say two women wind up dead, the third one turns evidence on him and Young winds up on trial for his life. The film is told in flashback while Young is put on the witness stand by his lawyer Frank Ferguson. As he tells his story he knows that They Won't Believe Me.

This is one of the cleverest noir films going. Had it been done at 20th Century Fox it would have been played by Tyrone Power in one of his heel characterizations. Young did a brilliant job with this role juggling his love life around these three beauties. And I can't single one of the women to say they stood above the others.

Definitely a must for fans of the noir genre.

Contrary to what some previous reviews have stated, Susan Hayward was not first billed; Robert Young was the top billed player. Cast against his usual type of role, Robert Young was perfect in the role. Comparing him to how other actors might have played the role makes no sense to me, except as an exercise in "armchair casting". The standout for me in the actresses was Rita Johnson, who was terrific. A most underrated actress (catch her in "The Big Clock"). Jane Greer was a truly beautiful woman, and it is a shame that she never achieved the heights of stardom that others did. Susan Hayward, on her way up the ladder, was as always a knockout - this is my personal favorite period for her (including "Deadline At Dawn") I thought the picture was almost perfect, full of irony and suspense. As always, the RKO cinematography is second to none. What a look those RKO movies had!