rockwell_lancer Review of The Strange Woman

The Strange Woman (1946)

Fine melodrama but a Weak version of the book - SPOILERS

[5/10 · 21 December 2006]

Spoilers!!! While this is a pretty good Ulmer melodrama, they simply could not film the original novel which includes sociopath Jenny's deliberately seductive behavior toward her own father from early childhood, her sadomasochism, her pleasure in manipulation and cruelty toward men and her own sons. She gets aroused when she witnesses a hanging and a terrible accident. She is one sick bitch, responsible for the death and/or destruction of her husbands, her stepson, her lover. She repudiates two of her own sons. When she sees a good man, she is compelled to bring about the ruin of his soul. Even while she is sometimes horrified with her evil nature, she never attempts to control her behavior except to bring her foul intentions to fruition. While it sounds over the top, it is very believable in the book, partly because the plot covers her entire life and also how others perceive both her good and bad sides. The movie covers a few years of her life, and then kills her off in the Hollywood fashion.