A WOMAN'S VENGEANCE

Charles Boyer

A WOMAN'S VENGEANCE (1948). Director: Zoltan Korda. Screenplay by Aldous Huxley, based on his short story "The Gioconda Smile."

"I think of Henry all the time." -- Janet.

"No, you don't, you think of yourself in relation to Henry which is an entirely different proposition." -- Dr. Libbard.

Henry Maurier (Charles Boyer) has three women in his life: his bitter, ill and jealous wife Emily (Rachel Kempson); his dear long-time friend, Janet (Jessica Tandy of Butley); and his pretty young mistress, Doris (Ann Blyth). Henry is no angel, which causes him big problems when Emily is found dead. At first everyone assumes she died of heart failure, but the hateful nurse Caroline (Mildred Natwick) insists it was murder. An autopsy shows that there was arsenic in her system, so Henry's new marriage to Doris is interrupted by a trial. The results seem preordained, but Emily's doctor, James Libbard (Cedric Hardwicke of The Winslow Boy), engages in a battle of nerves with the person he believes is truly responsible.

Jessica Tandy

The performances in A Woman's Vengeance can not be faulted, with Boyer managing to make a sympathetic figure out of someone who may not deserve any sympathy. Mildred Natwick and Cedric Hardwicke are both excellent as doctor and nurse. Ann Blyth proves once again that her Veda in Mildred Pierce was no fluke, and Jessica Tandy nearly walks off with the movie in her fascinating portrait of a woman suffering from unrequited love. Called upon to display every possible kind of emotion she is on top of it all in every sequence. John Williams is also notable in a brief bit as the prosecutor, and there are other good supporting bits as well.

Boyer with Ann Blyth

One has to wonder exactly what screenwriter Huxley -- best-known as the author of "Brave New World" -- was trying to say in this little picture. One suspects it wasn't that circumstantial evidence can condemn an innocent man, and one hopes it was more than the old "Hell Hath No Fury" chestnut, but I'm not certain. The feelings of the scorned woman are explored, although her actions are not condoned. While A Woman's Vengeance is not and is not meant to be an Agatha Christie-type murder mystery, the pace does drag after the not-so-big reveal, and Huxley's screenplay is awfully talky at times. Russell Metty is the cinematography and there's a subdued score by Miklos Rozsa. Director Zoltan Korda was the brother of Alexander Korda. Rachel Kempson was the wife of Michael Redgrave.

Verdict: Great cast -- especially a superb Tandy -- giving their all but the film on a whole is unsatisfying. **1/2.