JEAN SIMMONS plays a housemaid who takes advantage of the fact that she knows the truth about STEWART GRANGER's wife--and the fact that he murdered her, then pretended to be the grieving husband.
She uses this knowledge to blackmail him into making her head of the household staff--and the schemes continue, by both of them, with the cat-and-mouse game leading up to a satisfying ending. Both Simmons and Granger are at their best, completely in charge of their roles and well cast as the conniving leads.
And yet, something is missing. Instead of building suspense, under Arthur Lubin's limp direction, the film wanders slowly toward the conclusion, a few surprises along the way and the main thrust of suspense being the question it poses: how is he going to get rid of Simmons when her hold over him becomes even stronger after a second murder committed by him on a foggy night, presuming the woman was Simmons.
While the fascination lies in the handsome production values and the performances of the two leads, the film itself lacks the impact a melodrama of this sort should have by the time we reach the diabolical ending. A tighter script and stronger direction would have helped. BILL TRAVERS is completely wasted in a supporting role.
She uses this knowledge to blackmail him into making her head of the household staff--and the schemes continue, by both of them, with the cat-and-mouse game leading up to a satisfying ending. Both Simmons and Granger are at their best, completely in charge of their roles and well cast as the conniving leads.
And yet, something is missing. Instead of building suspense, under Arthur Lubin's limp direction, the film wanders slowly toward the conclusion, a few surprises along the way and the main thrust of suspense being the question it poses: how is he going to get rid of Simmons when her hold over him becomes even stronger after a second murder committed by him on a foggy night, presuming the woman was Simmons.
While the fascination lies in the handsome production values and the performances of the two leads, the film itself lacks the impact a melodrama of this sort should have by the time we reach the diabolical ending. A tighter script and stronger direction would have helped. BILL TRAVERS is completely wasted in a supporting role.