The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Rating:
Summary: WHISPER her name!
Review: After her spectacular launch into the genre as Phyllis (Duplicitous) Dietrichson in 1944's Double Indemnity, Barbara Stanwyck consolidated her reputation as the First Lady of Film Noir in this malevolent gothic. The broken-backed narrative lines spans a key bit of Martha Ivers' shall-we-say rebellious girlhood then jumps to the (postwar) present, when she reigns absolutely as industrial queen of Iverstown. (The original movie posters warned, "WHISPER her name!") One leftover from the past is her husband, Kirk Douglas, a once-brilliant district attorney going seriously into bourbon and paranoia. Back into Iverstown drives another chum from the bad old days, Van Heflin, with a waif in tow (Lizabeth Scott -- how much more noir can you get, short of Marie Windsor?). They're a flammable foursome. While in many respects this film is quintessentially noir, it eschews slapdash, brutal pace and energy in favor of a creepier, more brooding tone -- in many ways, it's closer kin to older movies like Kings Row than, say, Stanwyck's subsequent The File on Thelma Jordon. {P.S. Beware cheaper VHS versions; some are recorded on EP speed, and so unacceptably murky --both visually and aurally. Even in crisp black-and-white, this is a murky enough picture.)

Rating:
Summary: Deliciously Cynical Classic Film Noir.
Review: Sam Masterson left Iverstown with a traveling circus as a boy in 1928. 18 years later, having been everywhere and done his share of everything, including being a decorated war veteran, Sam (Van Heflin) finds himself back in Iverstown when he has car trouble as he is heading out West. He intends only to stay a day, and has the fortune to meet a young woman named Toni (Lizabeth Scott) whom he likes very much en route to his hotel. But when the town's first lady, Martha Ivers (Barbara Stanwyck) and her District Attorney husband, Walter (Kirk Douglas), who were childhood friends of Sam's, find out he is in town, they are immediately suspicious. Jealous over Martha's past affection for Sam and paranoid about his own political career, Walter assumes that Sam has come to stir up trouble concerning the untimely death of Martha's Aunt 18 years before. And Walter starts plotting against him.

The film's title very nearly says it all. "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" is about just that: the nature of the affection that Martha has had for Sam since she was a girl and how it influences her actions when she sees him again. The film was directed by Lewis Milestone on what looks like a substantial budget. "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" is a slicker production than is often associated with film noir. It was written by Robert Rossen, who adapted the screenplay from John Patrick's short story "Love Lies Bleeding", as yet unpublished at the time the film was made. The incomparable Barbara Stanwyck once again proves herself to be the queen of noir. Martha Ivers is a complex, inscrutable, and ruthless character, whom Stanwyck plays to perfection. This is Kirk Douglas' first film role and one of his most memorable. Walter is alcoholic, racked with guilt, manipulative, ruthless, but very much in love with his domineering wife. Douglas' performance reveals Walter in all of his pathetic intricacy. Van Heflin is wonderful as the film's "everyman" fighting to survive in circumstances beyond his control. Sam reminds me of the protagonist in another wonderful classic film noir, "D.O.A.". Both characters are victims of circumstance. But in this case, the situation is beyond Sam's control because he isn't aware that there is a situation. It 's the things you don't know that hurt you. I found "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" complex, sinister characters fascinating. It has just the right amount of gleeful cynicism. And I thoroughly enjoyed the film's unpredictability. It has become one of my favorite classic noirs, due in large part to its well-drawn villainous duo. I encourage fans of the genre to give it a try.

The DVD (This refers to the Parade DVD only): Includes written bios of the cast, screenwriter, director, and composer of the film's score. Subtitles available in Japanese only.

Rating:
Summary: Van and Liz are a great team - ****1/2 / *****
Review: This review refers to the Alpha Video (Gotham) DVD.

Overall Quality of DVD: ***1/2 /**** Sound: *** /**** Plot: ***1/2 /**** Acting: ***1/2 /**** Cinematography: ***1/2 /**** Direction: ***1/2 /****

You will be surprised at the quality of this GOTHAM transfer. There are some frame skips but other than that this DVD is a steal-of-a-deal and an "A"-rated film-noir!

Kirk Douglas and Barbara Stanwyck are very intense in their roles but, in my opinion, Van Heflin and Lizabeth Scott steal the show. Lizabeth Scott plays the beaten-down, always-taken-advantage-of, world-weary, down-on-her-luck, cute, sexy girl that... well, you just want to take her in your arms and give her a hug, yet, you also know if you do, you will probably have to kiss her and then you'll probably fall in love with her (just as Van Heflin does). In my opinion, this is Lizabeth Scotts' best role that I've seen ("Dead Reckoning" she is also quite good in - "Too Late For Tears" she is not as strong). She seems to need a strong hand in direction and when she gets it she can give A-level performances.

Mickey Kuhn as the young Kirk Douglas, Darryl Hickman (Dwayne Hickman's "Dobie Gillis" younger brother) as the young Van Heflin and Janis Wilson as the young Martha Ivers give riveting performances and are so "in character" in looks and mannerisms with the adult actors it will amaze you!

Also, Judith Anderson (Mrs. Danvers (Danny) in "Rebecca") gives a wonderfully sinister performance.

This is an "A+" story, acted well, directed well, filmed well, great production design and a very smooth transfer.

This film is worthy of restoration but is worthy in its present incarnation as is.

Rating:
Summary: The Guilt of Martha Ivers
Review: Van Heflin is a gambler who returns to his hometown and gets tangled up with some childhood friends. He left town the night Martha killed her cold-hearted aunt, a murder that was successfully covered up. Now the grown-up Martha, played by Barbara Stanwyck, and especially her weak husband, played by Kirk Douglas, fear he might reveal what happened that night. Heflin gets involved with Lizabeth Scott, a convict, who fears his past relationship with Stanwyck will take Heflin from her. In this film noir, none of the characters is particularly likeable, each trying to protect themselves. There is some biting dialogue and effective use of music, although sometimes it becomes a little overpowering. Stanwyck is terrific as usual, really delivering in the latter scenes. Douglas is too strong of a presence to play the weak, manipulated husband, and would have been better off trading with Heflin. Scott has a strange screen presence, and although it fits the character somewhat, she never seems quite comfortable. But the characters are fascinating (typical for film noir) and the story is really interesting, despite the poor choice of a title. Since so much of this film centres on guilt and how difficult it can be to escape one's past, I think a better title for the film would have been The Guilt of Martha Ivers.

Rating:
Summary: Nothin' so "strange" about this love!
Review: When I heard the title of this movie I had to see it since it piqued my curiosity--how unusual, I thought. Therefore I'm pretty sure the powers that be named it for exactly that reason, because although he's intriguing, there's nothing really "strange" about this love of Martha Ivers. Nevertheless, a fascinating and highly suspenseful overlooked noir starring a cunningly beautiful Barbara Stanwyk in one of the title roles as Martha Ivers, a wealthy heiress transformed by her heartless aunt (played by a wonderfully wicked Judith Anderson) and many empty years from a scarred and disillusioned young girl to a promiscuous and sociopathic vixen. The unaptly labelled "love" of Martha's which arouses much curiosity is played by Van Heflin as Sam Masterson, a rakish and successful young gambler who grew up with Martha before he ran away. In his film debut, although not in his niche Kirk Douglas does a reliable job as Walter O'Neill, a spineless suck-up who is an alcoholic to ease his tortured conscience. The story begins eventfully when young Martha kills her aunt in a fit of rage after her aunt thwarts her plans to runaway with Sam and bludgeons her beloved kitten to death. Walter is by her side when it happens and due to his loyalty and affection for Martha, corroborates her story that an intruder did it--which would later lead to an innocent man getting executed. The two kids then naturally assume Sam also saw what really happened just before he took off. Fast forward 18 years later as Sam inadvertently returns home to find himself enmeshed in a web of lust, murder, duplicity, dark childhood secrets and intrigue when now-husband-and-wife Martha and Walter naturally (but mistakenly) believe he has returned back and gone to see Walter--who's also D.A. due to his wife's power and influence--not to get his convict girlfriend out of the local clink, but that he wants to blackmail them. This wrong belief causes them to take actions which in turn leads Sam down a dark road toward discovering many disturbing things about two people he thought he knew but who have changed greatly (and for the worse) in the intervening years. Although Heflin and Douglas are good in their respective roles, one cannot help imagining it with Douglas instead in the role of principled tough guy Sam as he was initially promised before he was unceremoniously dumped and Heflin took over his role, after which Douglas had to submit to the indignity of auditioning for Walter the Weakling against Montgomery Clift and Richard Widmark (!). Hard to miss is breathtakingly lovely Lizabeth Scott as Antonia "Toni" Marracheck in her poignant performance as the sultry but sweet (and unjustly guilty) convict girlfriend of Sam, who stands by her man come rain or shine.