"Murder means taking away another person's right to live. There's no greater crime than that," replies Ted Parkson (George Murphy) to his young son Ricky's (Dean Stockwell) question about if "murder is like killing" as they eat at the breakfast table. The question is prompted by the headline in all capital letters on the front page of the newspaper Ted is reading: "Claire Lorrison Murdered". 'The Arnelo Affair' (Arch Oboler, 1947) is a film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) which had also produced crime films from the mid-1930s to mid-1940s which promoted the notion that "crime doesn't pay". Although there are subdued phrases uttered in the dialogue from characters such as Ted and Sam Leonard (Warner Anderson) that highlight this notion, 'The Arnelo Affair' is a true film noir that shows several shades of flaws, decency, and reason in the stories, behaviours, and dialogue of its characters.
As Ted utters his response to Ricky regarding "taking away another person's right to live", the camera cuts to a medium shot of Ted's wife Anne Parkson (Frances Gifford). Anne and Ted married soon after she turned sixteen and have been married for twelve years. Anne is passionate about interior design which began from working in an interior decorating shop just prior to meeting Ted. Currently in their marriage, she is going through the motions and is not being heard nor listened to by Ted, who is pre-occupied with his career as a lawyer. Anne has been robbed of excitement for quite some time and is introduced by Ted to one of his clients Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak) who has been robbed of stability much of his life and is trying to make up for lost time. Anne and Tony have an instant attraction to each other, and it takes Tony, of all people, to tell Ted that his crime is that he's neglected the emotional needs of Anne: "You've been married to her a long time, but you don't know her at all." In various shades, we see hints of what it means to the different characters to be alive whether it's to be grateful to have a pulse or to embrace the spirit of living by seizing the moment.
Several of the IMDb user reviewers are ruthlessly unfair to Frances Gifford's performance whose character's morose demeanour, to me, fares better here than that of Joan Leslie's Sheila Page in 'Repeat Performance' (Alfred Werker, 1947) or Andrea King's Brooke Gifford Ryder in 'Shadow of a Woman' (Joseph Santley, 1946) which are similar in tone and style. Gifford's style of performance, which is her interpretation of a woman who is depressed and later attempts suicide, may not liven up the overall tone for the viewer watching the film but it's conveyed with conviction when considering her character's personal circumstances.
Gifford's morose Anne is teased by friend and fashion shop owner Vivian Delwyn (Eve Arden). She says, "I adore eating with invalids" when attempting to sustain a conversation with Anne over a meal. The performances of Eve Arden are timeless, and her characters are often refreshing and progressive in their abilities to help the central male character comprehend and sympathize with the monotony of life that wives are expected to endure in post-war 1940s American society. The monologue she gives to Ted about this is nearly identical in tone to the one she gave Zachary Scott's character Bob Hunter in 'The Unfaithful' (Vincent Sherman, 1947), a film noir from Warner Bros.
The cast, overall, is strong for its cohesion and believability. John Hodiak conveys an exemplary homme fatale through the soft, melted caramel textures and hypnotic tonality to his voice. This enables him to take seemingly ordinary lines such as "it takes someone like me to appreciate someone like you" and give them shades of sounding special to the person receiving them but also egotistical coming from the person giving them. In addition to this, I disagree with the multiple IMDb reviews commenting on the dialogue being too "wordy" in this film. The actors express their lines at a nice pace and with conviction which really helps to keep the dialogue engrossing, and film editor Harry Komer helps to keep the scenes at their appropriate shortness and lengths. Special mentions for their performances also go to Dean Stockwell, who has never disappointed me in any of his acting performances, as well as Ruby Dandridge (mother to actors Dorothy Dandridge and Vivian Dandridge).
Overall, I highly recommend this film and feel very strongly that it's much better than its current 5.7 IMDb rating in addition to several negative reviews that seem to have missed enjoying several elements that I thoroughly enjoyed. From the haunting score by composer George Bassman, to its location shots of Chicago, to its tightly-knitted pacing, and to the strength of its cast which makes the dialogue come alive, 'The Arnelo Affair' is a refreshing film from MGM and not to be missed.
As Ted utters his response to Ricky regarding "taking away another person's right to live", the camera cuts to a medium shot of Ted's wife Anne Parkson (Frances Gifford). Anne and Ted married soon after she turned sixteen and have been married for twelve years. Anne is passionate about interior design which began from working in an interior decorating shop just prior to meeting Ted. Currently in their marriage, she is going through the motions and is not being heard nor listened to by Ted, who is pre-occupied with his career as a lawyer. Anne has been robbed of excitement for quite some time and is introduced by Ted to one of his clients Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak) who has been robbed of stability much of his life and is trying to make up for lost time. Anne and Tony have an instant attraction to each other, and it takes Tony, of all people, to tell Ted that his crime is that he's neglected the emotional needs of Anne: "You've been married to her a long time, but you don't know her at all." In various shades, we see hints of what it means to the different characters to be alive whether it's to be grateful to have a pulse or to embrace the spirit of living by seizing the moment.
Several of the IMDb user reviewers are ruthlessly unfair to Frances Gifford's performance whose character's morose demeanour, to me, fares better here than that of Joan Leslie's Sheila Page in 'Repeat Performance' (Alfred Werker, 1947) or Andrea King's Brooke Gifford Ryder in 'Shadow of a Woman' (Joseph Santley, 1946) which are similar in tone and style. Gifford's style of performance, which is her interpretation of a woman who is depressed and later attempts suicide, may not liven up the overall tone for the viewer watching the film but it's conveyed with conviction when considering her character's personal circumstances.
Gifford's morose Anne is teased by friend and fashion shop owner Vivian Delwyn (Eve Arden). She says, "I adore eating with invalids" when attempting to sustain a conversation with Anne over a meal. The performances of Eve Arden are timeless, and her characters are often refreshing and progressive in their abilities to help the central male character comprehend and sympathize with the monotony of life that wives are expected to endure in post-war 1940s American society. The monologue she gives to Ted about this is nearly identical in tone to the one she gave Zachary Scott's character Bob Hunter in 'The Unfaithful' (Vincent Sherman, 1947), a film noir from Warner Bros.
The cast, overall, is strong for its cohesion and believability. John Hodiak conveys an exemplary homme fatale through the soft, melted caramel textures and hypnotic tonality to his voice. This enables him to take seemingly ordinary lines such as "it takes someone like me to appreciate someone like you" and give them shades of sounding special to the person receiving them but also egotistical coming from the person giving them. In addition to this, I disagree with the multiple IMDb reviews commenting on the dialogue being too "wordy" in this film. The actors express their lines at a nice pace and with conviction which really helps to keep the dialogue engrossing, and film editor Harry Komer helps to keep the scenes at their appropriate shortness and lengths. Special mentions for their performances also go to Dean Stockwell, who has never disappointed me in any of his acting performances, as well as Ruby Dandridge (mother to actors Dorothy Dandridge and Vivian Dandridge).
Overall, I highly recommend this film and feel very strongly that it's much better than its current 5.7 IMDb rating in addition to several negative reviews that seem to have missed enjoying several elements that I thoroughly enjoyed. From the haunting score by composer George Bassman, to its location shots of Chicago, to its tightly-knitted pacing, and to the strength of its cast which makes the dialogue come alive, 'The Arnelo Affair' is a refreshing film from MGM and not to be missed.