July 1946: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers





















I love the title!

And… wow! This is absolutely brilliant! I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s condensed, over-the-top melodrama; every scene, every camera angle pitch perfect.

Lizabeth Scott is wonderful here. I’m not familiar with her work, but she’s like every 40s dame distilled. And Kirk Douglas is perfect as the milk-toast weaselly D. A. (which probably didn’t take much acting).

OK, my enthusiasm here is perhaps a bit er enthusiastic (I’ve got a way with words): Some of the scenes don’t really work. But the ones that do are fabulous.

“Let it burn, Sam.”

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Lewis Milestone. 1946.

Popular movies in July 1946 according to IMDB:

PosterVotesRatingMovie
59417.5The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
9677.1I See a Dark Stranger
13467.0Canyon Passage
5766.9A Scandal in Paris
2296.9Bowery Bombshell
7676.8Till the End of Time
2096.7Centennial Summer
3686.6My Pal Trigger
2826.5Two Guys from Milwaukee
4266.4Of Human Bondage

This blog post is part of the Decade series.

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