With her husband away on business Lucia Harper (Joan Bennett) has her hands full at home with her teenaged daughter Bea (Geraldine Brooks) who has been keeping a flirt with an older man , Ted Darby (Shepperd Strudwick) , whom Lucia distrusts. Then a homicide takes place and a blackmailer (James Mason) shows up . It could happen to so many married women !. A wild web of violence drew them irresistibly toward one another !
An interesting and decent picture with nice local detail and sadly ironic ending . Joan Bennett stars as the housewife who takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal , after discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover . This is a thriller drama that still looks good enough . Mason scored first major Hollywood hit as a reluctant blackmailer in this taut shot melodrama about a woman , stunningly performed by Joan Bennett , who falls into the clutches of some swindlers while attempting to protect her errant daughter. They're well accompanied by a fine support cast , such as : Geraldine Brooks , Henry O'Neill , Shepperd Strudwick , Roy Roberts , among others .
It contains thrilling and suspenseful musical score by composer Hans J. Salter . As well as evocative and atmospheric cinematography in black and white by cameraman Burnett Guffey . The motion picture was competently directed by the German Max Ophuls in his Hollywood period. Max Oppenheimer adopted the pseudonym of "Ophüls" which is the name of an aristocratic German family. When his name began to spread because of his qualities as a film-maker, the original Ophüls family wrote to him to ask which branch he belonged to, because they couldn't figure it out. Max used ordinary trademarks such as peculiar camera movement, especially circular motion, obsession with detail and his films often dealt with women coming to terms with their romantic illusions about love . Max made stunning and stylish movies , -some of them considered to me masterpieces- , such as : "La ronde" , "Le Plaisir" , "De Mayerling a Sarajevo" , "Caught" , "Vendetta" , "Werther" , "Madame de.." , "The Exile" , "Lola Montes" and ¨Letter from an Unknown Woman¨ at his best . "Reckless moment" rating : 7/10 . The pic will appeal to James Mason and Joan Bennett fans . Better than average . Well worth watching .
An interesting and decent picture with nice local detail and sadly ironic ending . Joan Bennett stars as the housewife who takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal , after discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover . This is a thriller drama that still looks good enough . Mason scored first major Hollywood hit as a reluctant blackmailer in this taut shot melodrama about a woman , stunningly performed by Joan Bennett , who falls into the clutches of some swindlers while attempting to protect her errant daughter. They're well accompanied by a fine support cast , such as : Geraldine Brooks , Henry O'Neill , Shepperd Strudwick , Roy Roberts , among others .
It contains thrilling and suspenseful musical score by composer Hans J. Salter . As well as evocative and atmospheric cinematography in black and white by cameraman Burnett Guffey . The motion picture was competently directed by the German Max Ophuls in his Hollywood period. Max Oppenheimer adopted the pseudonym of "Ophüls" which is the name of an aristocratic German family. When his name began to spread because of his qualities as a film-maker, the original Ophüls family wrote to him to ask which branch he belonged to, because they couldn't figure it out. Max used ordinary trademarks such as peculiar camera movement, especially circular motion, obsession with detail and his films often dealt with women coming to terms with their romantic illusions about love . Max made stunning and stylish movies , -some of them considered to me masterpieces- , such as : "La ronde" , "Le Plaisir" , "De Mayerling a Sarajevo" , "Caught" , "Vendetta" , "Werther" , "Madame de.." , "The Exile" , "Lola Montes" and ¨Letter from an Unknown Woman¨ at his best . "Reckless moment" rating : 7/10 . The pic will appeal to James Mason and Joan Bennett fans . Better than average . Well worth watching .