Set in pre Civil War Maine, a young woman marries a rich older man, and then seduces his son. The relationships are established when she and the son are children, and she pushes him from a bridge into a stream and picks up again after she's married his father and he's returned from college in Boston. Between the three played by Hedy Lamar, Gene Lockhart, and Louis Hayward, I'd say best actor award would go to Lockhart, the husband, whose part gets tougher as the film goes on. Set in the timber town of Bangor, director Edgar Ulmer does it again as he presents a bizarre little society of haves and have nots. Lamar's character comes from the poorer, deprived and maybe even depraved background, with a drunk for a father, who in one scene whips her (as she's a young woman now) with his belt as she both smiles and grimaces. From this emerges this stunning beauty who unfortunately has the same qualities as a black widow spider. Having George Sanders enter later seems a bit much, as the story was piping along with Hayward eyeing Lamar and Lamar playing him along while the town's economy goes along with the loggers who come in a make a mess every pay day. The setting is a big part of this minor classic thanks to cinematographer Lucian Andriot with yet another great example of how evocative B&W photography really was.
Review of The Strange Woman
