A Woman's Secret (1949)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Vicki Baum (novel)
Herman J. Mankiewicz (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 March 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Plot:

Susan is laying in the hospital with a bullet near her heart. Marian has told the police that she shot...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Friend | False Confession | Beautiful Woman | Investigation

Cast

Maureen O'Hara	...	Marian Washburn
Melvyn Douglas	...	Luke Jordan
Gloria Grahame	...	Susan Caldwell / Estrellita
Bill Williams	...	Lee Crenshaw
Victor Jory	...	Brook Matthews
Mary Philips	...	Mrs. Mary Fowler
Jay C. Flippen	...	Police Insp. Jim Fowler
Robert Warwick	...	Assistant District Attorney Roberts
Curt Conway	...	Doctor
Ann Shoemaker	...	Mrs. Matthews, Brook's Mother
Virginia Farmer	...	Mollie the Washburn Maid
Ellen Corby	...	Nurse who reads paper to Susan
Emory Parnell	...	Police Lieutenant at Desk

Also Known As:

Mortgage on Life (USA) (working title)
One Star Must Shine (USA) (working title)
The Long Denial (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-3 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Nicholas Ray and Gloria Grahame met while shooting this film. They were married in Las Vegas shortly after completing the film. They chose Las Vegas because Ray loved to gamble and to allow Grahame to get a quickie divorce (after the required six weeks of residency in Nevada) from actor Stanley Clements. The day the divorced was granted, the two married.

Quotes:

Marian Washburn: [Susan faints] Luke! She fainted.
Susan Caldwell aka Estrellita: [Luke claps] Oh.
Luke Jordan: I won a bet! They don't say, "Where am I?"

Soundtrack:

Paradise

My brief review of the film

Notable for being Nicholas Ray's second film and Herman J. Mankiewicz's second last screenplay, this piece of film noir has more to it than just that. The script is just brilliant, with lines full of wit and highly colourful characters. In particular, Gloria Grahame and Mary Philips have excellent characters, which they both embody very well. There are also some interesting bits of camera-work in the darker scenes, and the film brings the intriguing elements of the mystery genre to light very well. Not too much happens in terms of the film's plot, the film does not end on a very solid note and there are other minor quibbles that one could have. But really, this is a very well made picture, and it is certainly superbly written.