Movie Type: Romantic Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Themes: Haunted By the Past, Death of a Partner
Main Cast: Robert Young, Betsy Drake, Florence Bates, Morris Carnovsky
Release Year: 1951
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
In the vein of Spellbound and Rebecca comes this 1951 film noir from director James V. Kern. Robert Young stars as Jeff Cohalan, a successful architect who is tormented by the fact that his fiancée was killed in a mysterious car accident on the night before their wedding. Blaming himself for her death, Colahan spends his time alone, lamenting in the cliff-top home he'd designed for his bride-to-be. To make matters worse, ever since the accident, Colahan seems to be followed by bad luck. His horse and dog turn up dead without explanation, leading him to wonder if he has been cursed. Enter Ellen Foster (Betsy Drake), an independent and intelligent insurance investigator who just might be able to help Colahan figure out who or what's behind all of his misfortune. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
The Second Woman is an intriguing if frustrating little thriller -- frustrating because it verges on being very good but settles for being merely OK. Part of the problem is that Woman combines elements of various styles -- film noir, psychological drama, mystery, thriller, romance -- but doesn't meld them into a satisfying whole. Some may also have a problem with Robert Young's extremely subdued performance as Jeff Cohalan. While Young is actually doing some very careful, nuanced work, the manner in which he underplays -- which is exactly what is demanded by the screenplay -- may preclude sufficient involvement on the part of the viewer. As Ellen Foster, Betsy Drake gamely tries to make up for this, but occasionally comes across as pushing too hard. James Kern should be lauded for his attempts to create mood and atmosphere, and for his considerable success in this area, but he should also be criticized for letting the pace flag in spots and for not finding a consistent tone for the piece. The story is, fortunately, rather fascinating and keeps the audience quite involved, even when the dialogue is a bit simplistic. All in all, The Second Woman is a good attempt that is worth watching, even if it falls short of reaching its goals. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Joseph H. Nadel - Associate Producer, Maria P. Donovan - Costume Designer, Maurie M. Suess - First Assistant Director, James Kern - Director, Walter Thompson - Editor, Harry M. Popkin - Executive Producer, Nathaniel W. Finston - Composer (Music Score), Nathaniel W. Finston - Musical Direction/Supervision, Joseph Nusbaum - Musical Direction/Supervision, Henry Vilardo - Makeup, Boris Leven - Production Designer, Hal Mohr - Cinematographer, Robert Smith - Producer, Mort Briskin - Producer, Jacque Mapes - Set Designer, Mac Dalgleish - Sound/Sound Designer, Ben Winkler - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Smith - Screenwriter, Mort Briskin - Screenwriter
This psychological thriller tells the story of Jeff Cohalan (Robert Young). He's a successful architect who is tormented by the fact that his fiancée was killed in a mysterious car accident on the night before their wedding. Blaming himself for her death, Colahan spends his time alone, lamenting in the state-of-the-art cliff-top home he'd designed for his bride-to-be.
Cohalan also notices that ever since the accident, he seems to be followed by bad luck. His horse and dog turn up dead without explanation, leading him to wonder if he has been cursed.
He meets a woman named Ellen (Betsy Drake), and they are immediately attracted to each other. She soon learns about Jeff's past and begins to realize that Jeff may be much more dangerous than he seems.
