Review of The Second Woman

At first thought, you may consider this an Americanized "Rebecca" as it starts off the same way, narration by its heroine over the presence over the shell of a destroyed house and even the presence of one of that film's actors (Florence Bates as quite a different character) present. But as things are revealed about the film's brooding hero (Robert Young), it takes on a different narrative and gets you hooked. Heroine Betsy Drake is desperate to find out what is behind Young's presumed feelings of paranoia which includes memories of a dead fiancée, a nefarious scoundrel (John Sutton) who obviously hates him, a doctor (Morris Carnovsky) determined to get Young the psychological help he thinks he needs and the dead fiancée's father (Henry O'Neill) who is Young's life-long mentor.

The plot developments make it appear that Young is either a paranoid schizophrenic or being framed, Sutton the most obvious culprit. But it is obvious that something nefarious is going on with the mysterious burning of the house, poisoning of Young's dog (a truly disturbing moment) and an attempted hit and run on Drake. The portly Bates is delightful as her devoted aunt, a socialite whom the whole community seems to adore, and the only one who is for Young and Drake getting together. Moody photography, intelligent dialog and a surprise ending (complete with flashback) make this an intriguing, if sometimes chatty (but never boring) psychological film noir with more faces than either Eve or Sybil.