Neglected wife Frances Gifford is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, seemingly unappreciated by dull attorney husband George Murphy, taken for granted by son Dean Stockwell and the ears for wisecracking gossip by fashion designer pal Eve Arden. She becomes quickly enamored of her husband's client, John Hodiak, who quickly proves himself to be excessively amoral. Slapping around jilted mistresses, blackmail and possibly even murder are among his m.o.'s, and Hodiak never is willing to let a victim go, even after they holler eeny meeny miny mo to anyone sauntering by.
Ok, so on the surface and through decent performances, this is top drawer, a view of cafe society at its most scandalous, but certainly not top notch for its script and story details. Gifford is about to confess her involvement with Hodiak to hubby Murphy and he interrupts her to apologise for neglecting her emotionally. She has several intense confrontations with Hodiak which culminates when he joins her dinner party, brings up the subject of murder (concerning his dead mistress, Joan Woodbury) which predictably causes her to faint. Arden shines as usual with even the weakest of wisecracks, but she'd turn fish sticks and hot dogs into lobster and a ribeye.
It is fascinating to watch Hodiak work his evil, but this only accentuates the somber performance of Gifford and the wishy washy characterization of Murphy. A similar non noir version of the story was 1934's "Evelyn Prentice" which had the team of Myrna Loy and William Powell to help it rise against its cliches. Dorothy Dandridge's mother, Ruby, plays Murphy and Gifford's jovial maid, lightening up the melodrama with her sunny performance. Warner Anderson is appropriately stonefaced as the humorless detective. It's a mixed bag, arty and thought provoking, yet missing the magic of the two married couple outshined by the despicable Hodiak who shows incredible life for a man with a dead soul.
Ok, so on the surface and through decent performances, this is top drawer, a view of cafe society at its most scandalous, but certainly not top notch for its script and story details. Gifford is about to confess her involvement with Hodiak to hubby Murphy and he interrupts her to apologise for neglecting her emotionally. She has several intense confrontations with Hodiak which culminates when he joins her dinner party, brings up the subject of murder (concerning his dead mistress, Joan Woodbury) which predictably causes her to faint. Arden shines as usual with even the weakest of wisecracks, but she'd turn fish sticks and hot dogs into lobster and a ribeye.
It is fascinating to watch Hodiak work his evil, but this only accentuates the somber performance of Gifford and the wishy washy characterization of Murphy. A similar non noir version of the story was 1934's "Evelyn Prentice" which had the team of Myrna Loy and William Powell to help it rise against its cliches. Dorothy Dandridge's mother, Ruby, plays Murphy and Gifford's jovial maid, lightening up the melodrama with her sunny performance. Warner Anderson is appropriately stonefaced as the humorless detective. It's a mixed bag, arty and thought provoking, yet missing the magic of the two married couple outshined by the despicable Hodiak who shows incredible life for a man with a dead soul.