The Strange Woman (1946)

Director:

Edgar G. Ulmer
(more)

Writers:

Herb Meadow (screenplay)
Ben Ames Williams (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

25 October 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

So shocking she could only be spoken about in whispers!

Plot:

Beautiful Jenny Hager finds she can always get what she wants from the men in the 1820's port of Bangor...

Plot Keywords:

Maine | Fortune Hunter | Liar | Lumberjack | Dead Woman With Eyes Open

Cast

Hedy Lamarr	...	Jenny Hager
George Sanders	...	John Evered
Louis Hayward	...	Ephraim Poster
Gene Lockhart	...	Isaiah Poster
Hillary Brooke	...	Meg Saladine
Rhys Williams	...	Deacon Adams
June Storey	...	Lena Tempest
Moroni Olsen	...	Rev. Thatcher
Olive Blakeney	...	Mrs. Hollis
Kathleen Lockhart	...	Mrs. Partridge
Alan Napier	...	Judge Henry Saladine
Dennis Hoey	...	Tim Hager
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Aldrich	...	Sailor in Saloon (uncredited)
Jessie Arnold	...	Mrs. Thatcher (uncredited)
Edward Biby	...	Mr. Partridge (uncredited)
Clancy Cooper	...	Lumberjack (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Lumberjack (uncredited)
Edith Evanson	...	Mrs. Coggins (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Lumberjack (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	Street Rowdy (uncredited)
Billy Gray	...	Boy on Bridge (uncredited)
Teddy Infuhr	...	Boy on Bridge (uncredited)
Ian Keith	...	Lincoln Pittridge (uncredited)
Ian MacDonald	...	Boat Captain (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Poster's Workman (uncredited)
Jo Ann Marlowe	...	Jenny as a Girl (uncredited)
Francis Pierlot	...	Doctor Bailey (uncredited)
Christopher Severn	...	Ephraim Poster as a Child (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Poster's Workman (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Duncan (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Lumberjack (uncredited)
Katherine Yorke	...	Mrs. Pittridge (uncredited)
Chief Yowlachie	...	Indian Guide (uncredited)

Directed by
Edgar G. Ulmer		(as Edgar Ulmer)
Douglas Sirk		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Herb Meadow		(screenplay)
Ben Ames Williams		(novel "The Strange Woman")
Hunt Stromberg		uncredited
Edgar G. Ulmer		uncredited

Produced by
Jack Chertok	....	producer
Hedy Lamarr	....	executive producer
Eugen Schüfftan	....	producer
Hunt Stromberg	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Carmen Dragon

Cinematography by
Lucien N. Andriot		(director of photography) (as Lucien Andriot)

Film Editing by
John M. Foley
Richard G. Wray

Production Design by
Nicolai Remisoff

Art Direction by
Nicolai Remisoff

Costume Design by
Natalie Visart

Makeup Department
Blanche Smith	....	hair stylist
Joseph Stinton	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lester D. Guthrie	....	assistant director

Art Department
Victor Greene	....	assistant art director (as Victor Green)

Sound Department
Corson Jowett	....	sound

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

Editorial Department
James E. Newcom	....	supervising film editor

Other crew
Hunt Stromberg	....	presenter
Shirley Ulmer	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Hunt Stromberg Productions
• Mars Film Corporation

Distributors

• United Artists (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astor Pictures Corporation (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• All-Day Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Elite Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• SlingShot Entertainment (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Ventura Distribution (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• ASA Filmudlejning (1947) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Hen's Tooth Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company:

Hunt Stromberg Productions

Trivia:

Douglas Sirk directed, uncredited, the opening sequence with Jenny Hager as a child.

Quotes:

Lincoln Pittridge:[Giving a sermon, quoting from Proverbs 5:3] The lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil... But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword!

"The Strange Review" (2003)

Oh, but that Hedy Lamarr is unearthly beautiful. No wonder people just stared at her constantly.

At this part of her career (the mid-forties) Hedy Lamarr seemingly became tired of her "stand still and look stupid" technique (supposedly her own words there). I believe this is the film where she decided to start acting, and for unknown reasons no one liked her. She does surprisingly well, but as other reviewers have said, people have a difficult time concentrating on what she's doing. She doesn't appear to be too affected and irritating, but I don't think she was going to get an Oscar.

At the beginning of the film, young Jenny Hager (Kay from "Mildred Pierce") says that when she is older, she will have whatever she wants because she's going to be beautiful. In a transition shot she dissolves into Hedy Lamarr. Reaction--"Yep, she'll get whatever she wants. Definitely." The long dark hair, arranged perfectly but not too "done," the high arching eyebrows, those lips...one could go on forever. Unfortunately, her beauty doesn't seem to be more than skin deep. She is a complete jerk. She takes from her rich husband and gives to the poor church, but no reason is given for that. She takes care of her prostitute friend, but apparently only because she thinks prostitution is "cool." She is the type that believes in being honest, which means she likes talking about men and women and what they do. This makes her ahead of her time, I suppose. That doesn't offend me or anything, but she's kinda stereotypical in a way (a corset burner?). When the young Jenny made her remark about getting what she wanted, it's frightening that at that age she knew she could use sex for personal gain. That's what the older Jenny does. She uses men, she steals them, she bewitches them, the list just gets longer.

Biggest gripes--the totally unreal character of Jenny's sort-of friend, whose name escapes me, and the power of money. The friend is quite bland, so it's hard to remember anything distinct. She is the ultimate sacrificing woman, yet she's not very nice. It gets ridiculous. Early in the film, she is described as not liking Jenny, then all of a sudden, money changes everything. That's another irritating thing. Jenny marries a rich man, and the world's her oyster. She doesn't change as a person, but everyone's idea of her alters. The women in church talk out of both sides of their mouth--"I'm sorry I didn't call on you when you were married, but now we'll be best friends"; things to that effect. Also aggravating is the way older films punish the bad characters. Jenny gets punished no less than twice, and both are irreversible. To use a title from the silent version of "The Ten Commandments"--"If you break the Ten Commandments, they will break you." Jenny didn't deserve to be broken.