Though obviously dated, "The Strange Woman" continues to hold our interest and keep us in suspense till the last explosive frame. It is a good old Victorian melodrama in the tradition of "Maria of the Red Barn" and, with its stirring scenes of passion and thrilling action sequences, still excellent fare for those who love a good tale well told.
Hedy Lamarr plays a woman who can be extremely wicked and devilishly devious, but she is not thoroughly evil like the entirely despicable female played by Margaret Lockwood in the "Wicked Lady", but rather a mixture of good and evil like all of us. However, in her case both tendencies are taken to extremes, with evil predominating. In early life. she is very poor and suffers savage beatings from her inebriate father, with some provocation, it is true, but this may give her more justification than the spoilt, vandalistic and violent rich brats of "Rebel without a Cause" are entitled to for being a mixed-up kid.
The film is unfortunately marred a little (no pun intended) by a number of incongruous accents which no director could get away with today. Gene Lockhart's kind of Irish/Canadian is quite plausible in that location (Bangor, Maine), and even Dennis Hooey's broad drunken Scots is credible especially so close to Nova Scotia, but both George Sander's and Louis Hayward's (close friend of plum-in-the-mouth Noel Coward) dulcet tones would be more likely to be heard in an Oxbridge tutorial than a logging town. Admittedly, the Hayward character has been away studying architecture at university(at "Bawston", it seems, but shouldn't he then talk like JFK?), whilst on the other hand, Sanders claims in the accents of an Oxford don that he belongs not in an office but rather in the rough logging camps of "The Devil's Acre". Furthermore, and above all, there is the incongruity of the main character Jenny's accent, which mutates from standard girl-next-door American when young (played by Jo Marlowe), to the Viennese English of Sigmund Freud when Hedy takes over the rôle. I tend to think that dear Hedy never felt entirely at home in the States, yearned for her native Austria, and consequently, did not make sufficient effort with her diction coach.
Fortunately, in compensation for the above defects, the acting is otherwise fine for this material, and Hedy, the most beautiful of women, whilst Hayward and Sanders among the handsomest of men - all a joy to see in action.
It is hardly surprising that the late uxorious King Farouk of Egypt had a picture of a swimming Hedy, taken from "Ekstase", on the ceiling of his palatial bathroom.
Hedy Lamarr plays a woman who can be extremely wicked and devilishly devious, but she is not thoroughly evil like the entirely despicable female played by Margaret Lockwood in the "Wicked Lady", but rather a mixture of good and evil like all of us. However, in her case both tendencies are taken to extremes, with evil predominating. In early life. she is very poor and suffers savage beatings from her inebriate father, with some provocation, it is true, but this may give her more justification than the spoilt, vandalistic and violent rich brats of "Rebel without a Cause" are entitled to for being a mixed-up kid.
The film is unfortunately marred a little (no pun intended) by a number of incongruous accents which no director could get away with today. Gene Lockhart's kind of Irish/Canadian is quite plausible in that location (Bangor, Maine), and even Dennis Hooey's broad drunken Scots is credible especially so close to Nova Scotia, but both George Sander's and Louis Hayward's (close friend of plum-in-the-mouth Noel Coward) dulcet tones would be more likely to be heard in an Oxbridge tutorial than a logging town. Admittedly, the Hayward character has been away studying architecture at university(at "Bawston", it seems, but shouldn't he then talk like JFK?), whilst on the other hand, Sanders claims in the accents of an Oxford don that he belongs not in an office but rather in the rough logging camps of "The Devil's Acre". Furthermore, and above all, there is the incongruity of the main character Jenny's accent, which mutates from standard girl-next-door American when young (played by Jo Marlowe), to the Viennese English of Sigmund Freud when Hedy takes over the rôle. I tend to think that dear Hedy never felt entirely at home in the States, yearned for her native Austria, and consequently, did not make sufficient effort with her diction coach.
Fortunately, in compensation for the above defects, the acting is otherwise fine for this material, and Hedy, the most beautiful of women, whilst Hayward and Sanders among the handsomest of men - all a joy to see in action.
It is hardly surprising that the late uxorious King Farouk of Egypt had a picture of a swimming Hedy, taken from "Ekstase", on the ceiling of his palatial bathroom.