Bedelia

I first saw this film late at night in 1965. Very well done and both Lockwood and Anne Crawford (a sadly overlooked actress) are in their prime. After viewing this film, I came across the book written by Vera Caspary and was surprised to find that in the book the story was set in Connecticut during the Christmas tide of 1913; rather than England in 1946. At that time, many films had a late Victorian/early Edwardian setting and it was of interest to me that the period was updated to modern (1946) days. One key point of the period setting was the fact that after a snowstorm the characters were isolated and news was slower to reach people in 1913. One wonders what this film would have been like had the period setting been left intact.

On a trivia note, this film was one of the few independent productions made at Ealing Studios without the "Ealing Team" being involved.

The author of "Laura," Vera Caspary, wrote this post-war drama, Bedelia, starring Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter, and Barry K. Barnes. Barnes plays an artist named Cheney who meets newlyweds Charles and Bedelia and asks to paint Bedelia. Bedelia is a little funny about having her photo taken and she doesn't really like the idea of a portrait, but she goes along with it.

When a guest at the hotel where she's staying thinks she's someone else, we begin to see why she doesn't want her picture taken.

Finally glad to leave for home and get away from the very nosy Cheney, Bedelia and Charles go Charles' mansion in north England. Oh, guess who is going to be visiting. Cheney.

Good drama, somewhat predictable with nice performances. Lockwood is lovely in a variety of gowns. Worth seeing for the atmosphere and performances.

Above-average post-War British noir melodrama, based on a novel by Vera (LAURA) Caspay, directed by the prolific Lance Comfort (see also the post-War British 'Spiv' movie SILENT DUST) and starring Margaret (THE WICKED LADY) Lockwood as the titular femme fatale who, as per her Stateside counterparts Gene Tierney (LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN), Lana Turner (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE) and Barbara Stanwyck (DOUBLE INDEMNITY) offs those men who stand in her way; in this case to collect on their life insurance. Trailed by an apparent artist, the enigmatic and not altogether likeable Ben Chaney (Barry K. Barnes - see also DANCING WITH CRIME), Bedelia finds her path to greater riches (the policy held by her latest wealthy husband, Charlie) thwarted at every turn, before events come to a head in a wintry Gothic country estate in the north of England. The British settings add an air of gentility, but it's the somewhat surprisingly sympathetic take on Lockwood's character that softens the often misogynistic genre set-up as Bedelia, often clad in a variety of striking shimmery creations, actually registers more strongly as a protagonist than the often unemphatic or similarly deceitful supporting characters. Directed at a brisk pace by Comfort, this is an engaging work, that more than hints at simmering tensions beneath a deceptively straightforward drawing-room mise en scene and in which, given the well-upholstered backdrops (as well as Lockwood!), it's not difficult to read the subtext on class (a common enough feature in British genre cinema). This film, whilst not in itself being an upper class work, is a decent enough diversion. Middle-class stuff, then, and none the worse for that.

A brilliant story with a fast and pregnant dialogue all along, presents the fascinating case of a double-faced woman, the other face of which is well hidden behind a mask of superb charm and beauty - it's impossible to believe anything else but the best of her; but a nosy insurance investigator, not at all sympathetic but rather callous and rude in his constant meddling into the business of a happily and recently married couple, finds out more and more unpleasant things no one really wants to know, not even himself. Alas, it all leads to more unpleasantness.

Margaret Lockwood is as usual quite reliable and convincing in not a too glamorous part, Ian Hunter makes the perfect husband and reacts as anyone would in such an awkward situation, intrepidly handling the crisis with an admirable effort at controlling himself, while Barry K. Barnes carries through the difficult task of making a graceless character acceptable for his uneasy plight. Anne Crawford is a delightful surprise as another beauty, who after all remains when all the lights are gone. This is not clearly expressed in the film, but it should not be forgotten.

To this comes the interesting detail of the black pearl, which somehow symbolizes the whole story. She wants to get rid of it but refuses to sell it for a fortune, when asked for it she denies she still has it, and then it returns to bring about her doom. It should be noted that the author also was guilty of "Laura".

It's not a great or ambitious film but well above the average of so many other similar secondary melodramas.

When the story begins, Bedelia (Margaret Lockwood) is on her honeymoon with Charlie (Ian Hunter). They seem tremendously happy and there's only one odd thing you notice about her...she refuses to have her picture taken. This is weird and you'd think the husband would wonder if she's a wanted woman or something. But, he's in love and a bit hard-headed...and simply won't consider her to be anything other than the perfect wife. On this honeymoon, they meet an artist and he's much more than just an artist...it turns out he's investigating a case where a woman has murdered her husband for the insurance money....and he thinks Bedelia might be this lady. He also begins to suspect that there might have been more than just her one deceased husband!

This is a very good story and Lockwood is frightfully good. When things are going well for her, she's cool and manipulative. And, when things appear to be going badly, she's irrational, histrionic and like a caged beast. An interesting character study, to say the least. The rest of the cast is also quite good but perhaps the biggest star of all this are the writers...as the story is engaging, exciting and kept my interest throughout. Well worth your time.