Die schwarze Lawine

In the hands of lesser actors than Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan this film could have become silly and trite. But, with these two experienced thespians leading the way, I found "Silent Fury" to be a most exciting and pleasurable little mystery. When their wedding is interrupted by a stranger who claims that Colbert is already married, and that he was best man at that wedding, one can sense that there is some sort of plot against her at work. As Colbert, Ryan, and her attorney set out to disprove the strangers claim of a prior marriage, they are met at every turn by more evidence that seems to reinforce the claim that she is indeed already wed. Although it's not very difficult to figure out just who the main "baddie" is, it's still lots of fun as the intensity and pace of the story increases. All in all, a good, solid mystery film with fine performances by the two leading actors and a fine supporting cast which includes the often underrated Paul Kelly.

The great acting of Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan covers up in The Secret Fury a rather over the top melodramatic story with a really baffling conclusion. It will never be rated at the top ten of either Colbert and Ryan's film credits.

It sure begins ordinarily enough in fact rather amusingly as Ryan has a bit of trouble getting into his own wedding as he's in a suit and everyone else has a tuxedo (Ryan is carrying his tux) and no one will let him tell them he's the groom.

But when the minister asks if anyone has just cause why Colbert and Ryan should not wed, a stranger pushes in and says that Colbert is already married to his friend and he was best man at the wedding. The stranger is Dave Barbour and when they check on his story it seems true enough as Colbert can't provide a real reason not since on the day of 'wedding' she apparently spent it alone.

Later on the 'husband' is found dead in a closed room with Colbert and she's put on trial for murder and totally cracks up on the stand as the gaslighting is proving too much.

I can say this much without giving away the ending. Usually in films like this you will find Bob Ryan behind the evil scheme, but in this case he's stalwart and true and doesn't stop believing in Claudette. He continues sleuthing on his own and in the end the real villain is discovered with a motive that will leave you scratching your head.

This film will offer you the opportunity to see stage legend Jane Cowl as Colbert's aunt and Vivian Vance as a hotel maid in a role quite different than Ethel Mertz. Still it's the stars who put over a rather incredible and incredulous story for your viewing pleasure.

Claudette Colbert is a wealthy woman driven to near insanity in "The Secret Fury," also starring Robert Ryan and Jane Cowl. On her wedding day, a man appears who claims that an heiress, Ellen (Colbert), is already married. An investigation ensues, and the evidence is against her. When her "husband" is murdered in her presence, she is put on trial.

This looked to me like a B movie, and it made for very compelling watching. My only quibble with it - and it's not a minor one - is that I was very disappointed with the ending. The motive for the crime seemed preposterous.

Robert Ryan plays Ellen's fiancé, and it's a different role for him. Here he's heroic and likable rather than villainous.

One of the most interesting things about the film is Vivian Vance in a small but showy role. She's excellent as a hotel maid who recognizes Ellen and verifies that she was indeed married before. It was a treat to see her do something besides Ethel Mertz.

Claudette Colbert is very good as the troubled woman. She's not a natural fit for the role, being more at home in comedy, but she makes it work. She's very believable as an older woman seeking happiness only to have it snatched from her at the last minute.

Mel Ferrer directed this very well, and I recommend it, though I wasn't crazy about the ending.

Is Ellen (Colbert) losing her mind—is she already married? The trouble is what she remembers happening is not what a bunch of other people remember. So what's going on.

About half way through, the movie turns from high-key lighting into noir. But then Ellen's fiancée is the great noir icon Robert Ryan. Except here, he's basically a good guy, although those inventive opening scenes where he can't get into his own wedding prove he's a quirky sort. Colbert gets to show her acting chops by running through about every emotion in the book. And I couldn't help thinking of the previous year's The Snake Pit (1948) as I watched her breakdown.

It's a tense, riveting mystery as we try figuring out what's going on. Ellen seems so convincing, but then so does the damning evidence against her. The screenplay effectively draws the noose ever tighter around Ellen's sanity up till the end. Then the script nosedives with some ridiculous motivation that's just too implausible to fly (without giving it away). Too bad, since the movie could have excelled without this unfortunate lapse.

There's one scene that intrigued me. Hoping to unravel the mystery, Ellen and David enter what looks like a spacious, well-lit livingroom. There, what only can be described as a cutting-edge jazz ensemble is laying out the cool sounds of the time. Draped languorously across a couch is an equally cool-looking blonde. It's a highly suggestive scene, and clearly an effort at creating exotic atmosphere. But, the banal setting and the high-key lighting drain the needed visual impact. It's almost like someone (director Ferrer, the producers?) was afraid of too much "atmosphere", (contrast with the super-evocative jazz scene in the classic DOA {1950}). Thus, a potential highlight is allowed to pass by.

All in all, it's unfortunate that the fine acting, inventive touches, and genuine suspense are challenged by a key lapse in the plausibility of the screenplay. Otherwise it's an effective little thriller.

The Secret Fury, in many ways a run-of-the-mill romantic suspense drama (directed by Mel Ferrer) boasts top-notch principals in Colbert and Ryan; it stays puzzling if not quite gripping until towards the end, when implausibility conquers suspension of disbelief -- as so often it does in this genre. But for some viewers the film's highlight will be the portrayal of blowsy Leah by Vivian Vance -- the immortal Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy." Oddly, Vance had very few film roles; her true home was Broadway, where (among other gigs) she understudied for Ethel Merman. Here she contributes a winning turn as a chambermaid suborned to play a minor part in a nefarious scheme; watch her half-heartedly trying to wave away the smoke when she's puffing a furtive cigarette in the hotel's linen-storage room -- a transgression for which she ultimately pays the supreme penalty.