This is another "woman's picture" which passes off for a noir, despite notable credentials to that effect director Ray, cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca and co-stars Robert Ryan and Zachary Scott!
Again, the narrative seems not to have inspired Ray particularly; moreover, its greatest fault lies in the miscasting of its central role Joan Fontaine usually plays reticent ingenue types but, here, unconvincingly essays the role of a femme fatale. On the plus side, however, the rest of the cast is excellent Ryan and Scott are both solid as essentially stock characters (in particular, the former's cynical wit gives the film several of its best moments), lovely Joan Leslie is above the typically bland good-girl type, while Mel Ferrer makes an early impression as a struggling young painter whose portrait of Fontaine (its value increasing with each new scandal she's involved in!) conveniently becomes his meal ticket.
The plot, therefore, is entirely predictable except that the leading lady is allowed to get away with it at the end (suggesting rather belatedly and lamely that the whole thing was intended as tongue-in-cheek, but which may better explain its production difficulties that saw the project canceled and re-scheduled twice over the period of four years!); even so, the film itself remains eminently watchable through the sheer professionalism with which it is put across.
Again, the narrative seems not to have inspired Ray particularly; moreover, its greatest fault lies in the miscasting of its central role Joan Fontaine usually plays reticent ingenue types but, here, unconvincingly essays the role of a femme fatale. On the plus side, however, the rest of the cast is excellent Ryan and Scott are both solid as essentially stock characters (in particular, the former's cynical wit gives the film several of its best moments), lovely Joan Leslie is above the typically bland good-girl type, while Mel Ferrer makes an early impression as a struggling young painter whose portrait of Fontaine (its value increasing with each new scandal she's involved in!) conveniently becomes his meal ticket.
The plot, therefore, is entirely predictable except that the leading lady is allowed to get away with it at the end (suggesting rather belatedly and lamely that the whole thing was intended as tongue-in-cheek, but which may better explain its production difficulties that saw the project canceled and re-scheduled twice over the period of four years!); even so, the film itself remains eminently watchable through the sheer professionalism with which it is put across.