The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Genre: Drama / Filmnoir
Duration: 116 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Lewis Milestone
Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin and Kirk Douglas
IMDb score:
7,4 (12.190)
Releasedate: 19 August 1946
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers plot
"Fate drew them together… and only murder could part them!"
In 1928 the young heiress Martha Ivers tries to flee her surroundings with her friend Sam Masterson. This fails and a conflict arises with her governess Mrs. Ivers. In an ensuing fight, Martha kills Mrs. Ivers. Only Sam and Martha's good stepbrother Walter O'Neil are witnesses. Eighteen years after this event, Sam visits his old hometown and meets the attractive Antonia "Toni" Marachek, who is out on bail. When Toni is arrested again, Sam tries to get her out and has to go to Walter O'Neil. Walter has become an important, but also alcoholic, lawyer and politician and has a forced marriage to the fortunate Martha. However, Sam's old friends are getting more and more of a grip on him, which has far-reaching consequences for everyone involved.
Actors and actresses
Martha Ivers
Sam Masterson
Antonia 'Toni' Marachek
Walter O'Neil
Mrs. Ivers
Mr. O'Neil
Young Sam
Young Martha
Bobbi St. John
Hotel Clerk
Reviews & comments
Corran
-
- 371 messages
- 388 votes
I watched the film because it was on noir lists, but this is just a strong drama with at most some hints of noir. The 4 main roles (Stanwyck, Douglas, Heflin, Scott) are all strong, but I noticed that I found the scenes with Douglas to be the highlights. His cynical but brutally honest dialogues were a blast to enjoy. Also, almost all combinations of the above quartet are interesting and almost all of them work, with tormented eternal lovers Stanwyck and Heflin as a duo actually bringing the least. Very strong ending too. Definitely recommended, even if you don't like noirs.
Translated from Dutch · View original
clubsport
-
- 3961 messages
- 7044 votes
I can largely agree with Corran's report, more drama than real noir, otherwise solid acting from all
players, Stanwyck's 5th film I've seen and here too she didn't disappoint me, I knew Heflin from, among others,
I like Patterns and his way of acting, Douglas also does a more than fine job in his debut, even though it is a bit strange to see him play some kind of emotional wreck.
The story is reasonably well put together and despite the length it remains interesting.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
-
- 2334 messages
- 2105 votes
This is a fairly early film noir which raises the expectation that there will be a lot of chatter. And that is effectively the case in this rather long film. The four-way relationship Stanwyck - Van Heflin - Douglas - Scott provides enough swing to make it a kind of soap opera, albeit with a clear crime element. Visually there is a beautiful sequence at the beginning of the film with the dark murder of the aunt, the youth scenes in general are also visually attractive. Afterwards it falls back more on talking heads. Fortunately it is nice to see four classic noir actors at work. The debut of Kirk Douglas gives the film a historical edge.
Plot-wise, the finale is pretty predictable if you keep the Hays Code of the time in mind. As a viewer, we know that the Stanwyck character has committed murder and then arranged for an innocent person to be punished and executed in her place. According to the moral Hays Code, that can only mean that Stanwyck herself must be punished at the end of the film (in order to pass the film board's censorship). And so it happens. She is killed by Kirk Douglas. However, since Douglas has no private right to kill her, that means that this act of his must also be avenged (in order to pass the censorship). So he commits suicide. And we're all done with it. Competently made and entertaining enough.
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