The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Robert Rossen (screenplay)
John Patrick (story)
(more)

Release Date:

24 July 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

Fate drew them together... and only murder could part them!

Plot:

A ruthless, domineering woman is married to an alcoholic D.A., her childhood companion who is the only living witness to her murder of her rich aunt seventeen years earlier.

Plot Keywords:

Aunt | Heiress | District Attorney | Tutor | Industrial Town

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Martha Ivers
Van Heflin	...	Sam Masterson
Lizabeth Scott	...	Antonia 'Toni' Marachek
Kirk Douglas	...	Walter O'Neil
Judith Anderson	...	Mrs. Ivers
Roman Bohnen	...	Mr. O'Neil
Darryl Hickman	...	Sam as a Boy
Janis Wilson	...	Martha as a Girl
Ann Doran	...	Bobbi St. John
Frank Orth	...	Hotel Clerk
James Flavin	...	Detective #1
Mickey Kuhn	...	Walter as a Boy
Charles D. Brown	...	McCarthy - Private Detective
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gene Ashley	...	Man (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin	...	Dempsey - Garage Owner (uncredited)
Bill Burt	...	Man (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
Catherine Craig	...	French Maid (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Craps Shooter (uncredited)
Kay Deslys	...	Deputy Elizabeth Baker, Jail Matron (uncredited)
Tom Dillon	...	Detective (uncredited)
William Duray	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Blake Edwards	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Tom Fadden	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Strong Arm Man (uncredited)
Betty Hill	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Robert Homans	...	Gallagher, the Cop (uncredited)
Olin Howland	...	Newspaper clerk (uncredited)
Gladden James	...	John (uncredited)
Payne B. Johnson	...	Bellboy (uncredited)
John Kellogg	...	Joe - Private Detective (uncredited)
Harry Leonard	...	Craps Shooter (uncredited)
Thomas Louden	...	Lynch (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Bus Driver (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Bob Perry	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Ricky Ricardi	...	Man (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Bert Roach	...	Man Waiting for Friend (uncredited)
Tommy Ryan	...	(uncredited)
Tom Schamp	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Jake, the Detective (uncredited)

Directed by
Lewis Milestone

Writing credits
Robert Rossen		(screenplay)
John Patrick		(story "Love Lies Bleeding") (as Jack Patrick)
Robert Riskin		uncredited

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
Victor Milner		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Archie Marshek

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier
John Meehan

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Jerry Welch

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Aldrich	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Richard McWhorter	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist
Walter Oberst	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Jan Domela	....	matte painting assistant (uncredited)
Gordon Jennings	....	special optical effects (uncredited)
W. Wallace Kelley	....	transparency projectionist (uncredited)
Paul K. Lerpae	....	special optical effects assistant (uncredited)
Irmin Roberts	....	matte painting assistant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Neal Beckner	....	second camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hal Wallis Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Kartes Video (1984) (USA) (VHS) (clamshell)
• Lumivision (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Lumivision (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1993) (Finland) (TV)
• Castle Communications (1994) (Finland) (VHS)
• Timeless Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Hollywood Classics (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Laserlight Entertainment (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Master Movies (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Master Movies (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• United American Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Questar Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Delta Expedition (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Roan Group, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• YLE Teema (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Madacy Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• St. Clair Entertainment Group (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• St. Clair Entertainment Group (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Finnkino (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• St. Clair Entertainment Group (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hal Wallis Productions

Trivia:

The car that Sam Masterson (Van Heflin) drives into Iverstown at the beginning of the film is a 1942 DeSoto Custom Convertible.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sam first meets Toni, she is holding a fairly new, lit cigarette, and then 2 seconds later, is not holding one, and asks for one.

Quotes:

Walter O'Neil:You fell down the stairs.
Sam Masterson:I remember... you, carried me into here?
Walter O'Neil:Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Kirk Douglas: A Lust for Life" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Strange Love

Underrated Noir with an excellent cast.

Knowing absolutely NOTHING about this movie (apart from it being the screen debut of Kirk Douglas) I thought it was going to be a potboiler, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. It veers between Noir and melodrama, and I gotta say I was hooked from the get go. I'm not the biggest Barbara Stanwyck fan in the world, but she was well cast as the ruthless matriarch of a small town, and Douglas really pulled off an unusual role for him (basically a drunken wimp). Van Heflin ('Shane') plays the "hero" and holds his own against those two, and I also really liked Lizabeth Scott, an actress I'm not familiar with, who plays Heflin's love interest (sorta). 'The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers' will please fans of 1940s Noir. It deserves to be better known than it is.