Whenever I see a 1940s film which shows characters breaking the 10 commandments, I say "Here we go again, the villain(ess) will get their comeuppance before the film's end.It may seem perverse but I sometimes wish they could succeed with their aims, particularly when there is good in the character like here.A case in point is the character of Jenny Hager (Hedy Lamarr) who has a drunken father who beats her.Modern psychologists would have a field day with that one to explain adult motivation and her mental/sexual relationships with men.The transition from a young Jenny's face reflected in the local pond to a mature woman was effective.Unfortunately there is no getting away with her Bangor Maine accent and I was surprised Hedy got the lead role.She was obviously not a recently arrived immigrant from Austria as her father feigned a Scottish accent.I much prefer Hedy naturally playing herself in films with a believable cover story.One of my favourites is "Come Live With Me" (1941) co-starring with James Stewart where she plays a Viennese visitor who has overstayed on her passport.George Sanders is likewise too sophisticated to play a man who we are told prefers to work in a logging camp.He was likewise better cast in "Rebecca" and "The Portrait of Dorian Gray".
On the plus side, Hedy is given a chance to act instead of standing still and looking stupid.Gene Lockhart acts with his British born wife Kathleen, playing Hedy's first husband.These two appeared together in Hedy's first U.S. film "Algiers" (1938) in which she co-starred with Charles Boyer.In the latter film Gene played an informer who gets shot but in "Strange Woman" is given a slightly more sympathetic role as the town's richest man.On balance I did not think Hedy deserved her cruel, fatal accident but she was trying to run down her new husband George Sanders and his ex-fiancé!!If you like costume drama (1820s), you will enjoy this DVD which can be easily purchased.
On the plus side, Hedy is given a chance to act instead of standing still and looking stupid.Gene Lockhart acts with his British born wife Kathleen, playing Hedy's first husband.These two appeared together in Hedy's first U.S. film "Algiers" (1938) in which she co-starred with Charles Boyer.In the latter film Gene played an informer who gets shot but in "Strange Woman" is given a slightly more sympathetic role as the town's richest man.On balance I did not think Hedy deserved her cruel, fatal accident but she was trying to run down her new husband George Sanders and his ex-fiancé!!If you like costume drama (1820s), you will enjoy this DVD which can be easily purchased.