Usually, when Hollywood makes a courtroom movie that has a protagonist accused of a murder and through his testimony shows what really happened in flashbacks, the audience is supposed to be on the his side and hope he doesn't get punished. In They Won't Believe Me, screenwriter Jonathan Latimer manages to write a protagonist so unlikable, the audience thinks he should be punished the longer he keeps talking!
Robert Young starts the movie as an accused murderer, yet he saunters up to the witness stand as if he hasn't a care in the world. He tells the audience he's going to start at the beginning, cueing a ninety-minute flashback. He's married to Rita Johnson, and while she's never shown doing anything wrong, he's incredibly unhappy and is a constant philanderer. First, he's completely in love with Jane Greer and wants to leave his wife, then we find out she's one in a long pattern, then he completely falls in love with Susan Hayward, then he completely falls in love with Jane Greer again. He has no consistency, no morals, and no barometer of his true feelings. I felt terribly sorry for Rita, putting up with his episodes and constantly rearranging their lives to start anew and keep his interest for a little while until the next tramp came along.
This isn't a very good film noir flick, and it isn't particularly suspenseful since the first scene tells the audience who dies. The romances are ridiculous since he acts more like Andy Hardy than a mature, thirty-four-year-old as his character is written. And if you're in love with Susan Hayward like I am, check out The Lost Moment instead for a real mystery.
Robert Young starts the movie as an accused murderer, yet he saunters up to the witness stand as if he hasn't a care in the world. He tells the audience he's going to start at the beginning, cueing a ninety-minute flashback. He's married to Rita Johnson, and while she's never shown doing anything wrong, he's incredibly unhappy and is a constant philanderer. First, he's completely in love with Jane Greer and wants to leave his wife, then we find out she's one in a long pattern, then he completely falls in love with Susan Hayward, then he completely falls in love with Jane Greer again. He has no consistency, no morals, and no barometer of his true feelings. I felt terribly sorry for Rita, putting up with his episodes and constantly rearranging their lives to start anew and keep his interest for a little while until the next tramp came along.
This isn't a very good film noir flick, and it isn't particularly suspenseful since the first scene tells the audience who dies. The romances are ridiculous since he acts more like Andy Hardy than a mature, thirty-four-year-old as his character is written. And if you're in love with Susan Hayward like I am, check out The Lost Moment instead for a real mystery.