'Ivy' was originally intended to star Olivia de Havilland in the title role until the actress rejected it at the last moment over a contract dispute. Costumes were all ready and Joan Fontaine stepped in for her sister with rather moderate results. Under Sam Wood's direction, Fontaine never makes Ivy seem capable of the evil deeds. In other words, she's an interesting replacement but only partially successful, depending on a coy and flirtatious manner to carry the role. It seems too much a surface portrait of evil but Fontaine manages to be very fetching as a Victorian lady.
IVY is a beautiful woman unhappy with her marriage to a weak husband (Richard Ney). To improve her status she seeks the attention of a wealthy man (Herbert Marshall) and decides to rid herself of her husband by poisoning him. She also has a lover on the side (Patric Knowles) and isn't above framing him for the crime. Fontaine plays the character in a sly and cunning way but never convinces us that her wicked woman is more than a pose. Herbert Marshall--usually a very fine actor--but here trapped in a role for which he is too old and has neither the charisma nor the romantic charm the part requires.
Other performances in a largely British cast are excellent--Patric Knowles, Una O'Connor, Lucille Watson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Nice settings and interior art direction under the talented hand of William Cameron Menzies. A very effective opening with Ivy going to a fortune-teller (Una O'Connor) who sees only too well the future awaiting the heroine. A rather abrupt ending comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Summing up: a handsome and atmospheric Victorian melodrama flawed by miscasting, particularly Marshall (too old for the part) and Richard Ney, woefully wooden, as the poisoned husband. All the elements are here for suspenseful treatment, but Sam Wood's direction is too tepid and slow-paced to make this anything more than an average Victorian melodrama.
IVY is a beautiful woman unhappy with her marriage to a weak husband (Richard Ney). To improve her status she seeks the attention of a wealthy man (Herbert Marshall) and decides to rid herself of her husband by poisoning him. She also has a lover on the side (Patric Knowles) and isn't above framing him for the crime. Fontaine plays the character in a sly and cunning way but never convinces us that her wicked woman is more than a pose. Herbert Marshall--usually a very fine actor--but here trapped in a role for which he is too old and has neither the charisma nor the romantic charm the part requires.
Other performances in a largely British cast are excellent--Patric Knowles, Una O'Connor, Lucille Watson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Nice settings and interior art direction under the talented hand of William Cameron Menzies. A very effective opening with Ivy going to a fortune-teller (Una O'Connor) who sees only too well the future awaiting the heroine. A rather abrupt ending comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Summing up: a handsome and atmospheric Victorian melodrama flawed by miscasting, particularly Marshall (too old for the part) and Richard Ney, woefully wooden, as the poisoned husband. All the elements are here for suspenseful treatment, but Sam Wood's direction is too tepid and slow-paced to make this anything more than an average Victorian melodrama.