A Coast Guardsman suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress becomes involved with a beautiful and enigmatic seductress married to a blind painter.A Coast Guardsman suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress becomes involved with a beautiful and enigmatic seductress married to a blind painter.A Coast Guardsman suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress becomes involved with a beautiful and enigmatic seductress married to a blind painter.
- Kirk
- (as Glenn Vernon)
- Coast Guardsman
- (uncredited)
- Lenny
- (uncredited)
- Girl at Party
- (uncredited)
- Young Fisherman
- (uncredited)
- Girl at Party
- (uncredited)
- Nurse Jennings
- (uncredited)
- Girl at Party
- (uncredited)
- Old Workman
- (uncredited)
- Old Fisherman
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe last film that Jean Renoir directed in Hollywood, and a very painful experience for him as it was severely compromised.
- GoofsPeggy says her husband's "optic nerve was cut," which is why he's blind. But, although she refers to the optic nerve in the singular, people have two optic nerves - one for each eye.
- Quotes
Tod: Peggy, did it ever occur to you that to me you'll always be young and beautiful? No matter how old you grow - I'll always remember you as you were the last day I saw you - young, beautiful, bright, exciting. No one who can see can say that to you. - - Peg, you're so beautiful... so beautiful outside, so rotten inside.
Peggy: You're no angel.
Tod: No. I guess we're two of a kind.
- Crazy creditsDuring the opening credits, the waves wash away one set of names before the next set is displayed.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007)
Robert Ryan plays Scott, a coastguard who suffers from regular night terrors concerning memories of a war-time naval tragedy, when his ship was presumably torpedoed. His dream sequences are gripping and otherwordly, recalling the excellently surreal work achieved by Renoir in his silent short film, 'The Little Match Girl (1928).' During his nightmares, Scott imagines an underwater romantic liaison, which, before he can get intimate, unexpectedly blows up in his face; this is an apt indication of the events that unfold later in the film. Scott is engaged to marry the pretty Eve (Nan Leslie), but his attention is soon distracted by Peggy (Joan Bennett), the titular "woman on the beach." Peggy is married to Tod (Charles Bickford), a famous blind artist who is still coming to terms with his relatively recent affliction. At just 71 minutes in length, 'Woman on the Beach' feels far too short, the apparent victim of studio interference. Scott is obviously enamoured, and later obsessed, with femme fatale Peggy, in a manner than suggests Walter Neff's fixation with Phyllis Dietrichson, but the motivations behind his actions are inadequately explored and explained.
Perhaps as a result of the studio's trimming of scenes, many plot-twists in the film seem somewhat contrived. Scott's extreme determination in proving that Tod is faking blindness feels so incredibly illogical why, indeed, would Tod even consider such a con? Many wonderful scenes are severely hampered by the story's lack of exposition. In the film's most dramatic scene, amid the choppy waters of the Atlantic, Robert Ryan displays a frighteningly convincing rage that borders on pure psychosis, a quality that Nicholas Ray exploited five years later in 'On Dangerous Ground (1952).' However, because Scott's obsession and emotional transformation had previously been explored so sparsely, the sequence feels, above all else, out of context. The performances are nevertheless solid across the board, with Bickford probably the most impressive. Bennett's character is tantalisingly ambiguous: throughout the film, she slowly reveals herself to be nothing but a greedy tramp, though Scott insists on treating her as a tormented victim of abuse. The ending offers little in the way of resolution, reaffirming the sentiment that perhaps this film isn't all there.
- ackstasis
- Dec 28, 2008
- How long is The Woman on the Beach?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 11 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1