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The Reckless Moment

  • 19491949
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir
After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Max Ophüls
  • Writers
    • Henry Garson(screen play)
    • Robert Soderberg(screen play)
    • Mel Dinelli(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • James Mason
    • Joan Bennett
    • Geraldine Brooks
  • Director
    • Max Ophüls
  • Writers
    • Henry Garson(screen play)
    • Robert Soderberg(screen play)
    • Mel Dinelli(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • James Mason
    • Joan Bennett
    • Geraldine Brooks
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 63User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos30

    The Reckless Moment (1949)
    James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    Geraldine Brooks in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    James Mason and Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)
    Joan Bennett in The Reckless Moment (1949)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Mason
    James Mason
    • Martin Donnelly
    Joan Bennett
    Joan Bennett
    • Lucia Harper
    Geraldine Brooks
    Geraldine Brooks
    • Beatrice 'Bea' Harper
    Henry O'Neill
    Henry O'Neill
    • Tom Harper
    Shepperd Strudwick
    Shepperd Strudwick
    • Ted Darby
    David Bair
    • David Harper
    Roy Roberts
    Roy Roberts
    • Nagel
    Jessie Arnold
    Jessie Arnold
    • Old Lady
    • (uncredited)
    Al Bain
    Al Bain
    • Man
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Baker
    • Man
    • (uncredited)
    Pat Barton
    Pat Barton
    • Receptionist
    • (uncredited)
    Holger Bendixen
    • Man
    • (uncredited)
    Gail Bonney
    Gail Bonney
    • Woman
    • (uncredited)
    Chet Brandenburg
    Chet Brandenburg
    • Department Store Customer
    • (uncredited)
    Peter Brocco
    Peter Brocco
    • Pete - Bartender
    • (uncredited)
    Paul E. Burns
    Paul E. Burns
    • Desk Clerk
    • (uncredited)
    John Butler
    John Butler
    • Pawnbroker
    • (uncredited)
    Kathryn Card
    Kathryn Card
    • Mrs. Loring
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Max Ophüls
    • Writers
      • Henry Garson(screen play)
      • Robert Soderberg(screen play)
      • Mel Dinelli(adaptation)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      James Mason said that after Columbia refused to give director Max Ophüls the permission to light simultaneously two large and separate sets, and to allow a long dolly shot from one place to the other, he thought that "Ophüls could not smile anymore from this day."
    • Goofs
      During Lucia's motorboat ride to dump Ted Darby's dead body, just before she passes under a road bridge, the frothy bubbling wake in front of Lucia's speedboat can clearly be seen, which could only be coming from the vessel carrying the film crew and camera.
    • Quotes

      Martin: Hell is other people...

    • Connections
      Featured in Maternal Overdrive (2006)

    User reviews63

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    "Everyone has a mother like me"
    Joan Bennett and James Mason star in "The Reckless Moment," a 1949 film directed by Max Ophuls and featuring Geraldine Brooks and Shepperd Strudwick.

    I actually saw the remake of this movie, The Deep End, with Tilda Swinton and Goran Visjnic of "ER" fame. Both films are excellent, though the emphasis in each is slightly different.

    Bennett plays Lucia Harper, mother of two, a teenage daughter and a younger son. Her husband works out of town currently - he appears to be an engineer - so Lucia has to hold it all together for her family, which includes her father. They have a house on the beach and lead a comfortable life, but her family needs and depends on her in every way.

    Lucia doesn't like Darby,(Strudwick) the man her daughter Bea (Brooks) is seeing -- he's older than she is and seems on the sleazy side. She goes to see him in Los Angeles and asks him to stay away. Darby is happy to, for a price. When Lucia relates this to Bea, Bea doesn't believe her and that night, sneaks off to meet him in the family boathouse. When she learns that he did indeed want money, she hits him and runs away. He chases her, becomes woozy from being hit, and falls through an insecure railing to his death. I believe he impales himself on an anchor, as he did in the remake, but truthfully I couldn't see that shot clearly enough.

    Lucia finds the body and, not knowing it was an accident, gets Darby into the family boat and dumps it in a lagoon; Bea doesn't know Darby is dead until the following day, when his body is found and the police and press descend. Bea becomes hysterical and Lucia has to calm her.

    That should be the end of it but a man named Donnelly (James Mason) appears demanding $5000, on behalf of a man named Nagel, for letters that Bea wrote Darby. Lucia is frantic - how can she get her hands on that kind of money without raising her family's suspicion? Seeing the stress she's under and her protectiveness, Donnelly is moved by her plight.

    This particular version of the story focuses on thin veneer of normalcy that Lucia operates under, and he emphasizes this by having her son ask innocuous questions constantly, her daughter's hysteria throughout the film, and all the while, her father takes to the blackmailing Donnelly and invites him for drinks and dinner. It also focuses on the veneer of the class system that was quickly fading after World War II. For Lucia, going to a bar, a pawn shop, a loan company, for her to even admit she needs money, is difficult. And ultimately she confides in her black maid and needs her help. Joan Bennett, with her educated accent and sophistication, does a marvelous job of portraying this as well as the stress of Lucia's life.

    One couldn't ask for a better actor than James Mason as Donnelly. His presence, his voice, his attractiveness give him a veneer of respectability, but he's quick to point out he's not of Lucia's class. "She's lucky to have a mother like you," he tells Lucia about Bea. "Everybody has a mother like me," Lucia snaps. "You probably had one yourself." They become partners to satisfy the cruel Nagel.

    Max Ophuls keeps the atmosphere dark and the suspense tight throughout the film, juxtaposing the bright home with the inquisitive, bothersome teenage boy and the relaxed father with the dark and foreboding beach front and lonely roads. Very powerful.

    In the "Deep End," the story has been modernized - the son is gay, and the focus is on the character of the mother more than what she has to cope with, in my opinion -- it's a fascinating character study. And her connection to Visjnic is explored more.

    I highly recommend both versions of this film, each on its own merits.
    helpful•6
    0
    • blanche-2
    • Jul 12, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 9, 1949 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Blank Wall
    • Filming locations
      • Balboa, Newport Beach, California, USA(I)
    • Production company
      • Walter Wanger Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $882,653 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 22 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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