Bedelia (1946)

Director:

Lance Comfort

Writers:

Vera Caspary (novel)
Vera Caspary (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 February 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

MARGARET LOCKWOOD as BEDELIA who had more than her share of men, jewels, and love and wanted more, more, MORE! (original poster)

Plot:

Bedelia Carrington (Margaret Lockwood) is living happily, it appears, in Monte Carlo with her husband...

Plot Keywords:

Money | Artist | British Noir | Murder | Wealth

Cast

Margaret Lockwood	...	Bedelia Carrington
Ian Hunter	...	Charlie Carrington
Barry K. Barnes	...	Ben Chaney
Anne Crawford	...	Ellen
Beatrice Varley	...	Mary
Louise Hampton	...	Hannah
Jill Esmond	...	Nurse Harris
Julien Mitchell	...	Dr. McAfee
Vi Stevens	...	Mrs. McAfee
Kynaston Reeves	...	Mr. Bennett
Olga Lindo	...	Mrs. Bennett
John Salew	...	Alec Johnstone
Barbara Blair	...	Sylvia Johnstone
Daphne Arthur	...	Miss Jenkins
Claude Bailey	...	Capt. McKelvey

Runtime:

90 min | USA:83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12125) | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16

Company:

British National Films

Above-average post-War British noir melodrama

Above-average post-War British noir melodrama, based on a novel by Vera (LAURA) Caspay, directed by the prolific Lance Comfort (see also the post-War British 'Spiv' movie SILENT DUST) and starring Margaret (THE WICKED LADY) Lockwood as the titular femme fatale who, as per her Stateside counterparts Gene Tierney (LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN), Lana Turner (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE) and Barbara Stanwyck (DOUBLE INDEMNITY) offs those men who stand in her way; in this case to collect on their life insurance. Trailed by an apparent artist, the enigmatic and not altogether likeable Ben Chaney (Barry K. Barnes - see also DANCING WITH CRIME), Bedelia finds her path to greater riches (the policy held by her latest wealthy husband, Charlie) thwarted at every turn, before events come to a head in a wintry Gothic country estate in the north of England. The British settings add an air of gentility, but it's the somewhat surprisingly sympathetic take on Lockwood's character that softens the often misogynistic genre set-up as Bedelia, often clad in a variety of striking shimmery creations, actually registers more strongly as a protagonist than the often unemphatic or similarly deceitful supporting characters. Directed at a brisk pace by Comfort, this is an engaging work, that more than hints at simmering tensions beneath a deceptively straightforward drawing-room mise en scene and in which, given the well-upholstered backdrops (as well as Lockwood!), it's not difficult to read the subtext on class (a common enough feature in British genre cinema). This film, whilst not in itself being an upper class work, is a decent enough diversion. Middle-class stuff, then, and none the worse for that.