La perle noire

A fine thriller based on a Vera "Laura" Caspary's book ,Lance Comfort ,like in "daughter of darkness " draws the portrait of a disturbing woman ,masterfully played by Margaret Lockwood.Butter would not melt in her mouth ,but little by little clues are given to the viewer who understands she might be a female Blue Beard .

Like Du Maurier's "Rebecca ", the story begins in the south of France: and it's to the screenwriter's credit to have used many lines in perfect French at a time when they did not care for the languages ;funny how the receptionist in the hotel tells a guest that there's no vacancy in French with an English accent!

A well-crafted thriller , with good performances ,and good scenes (the Christmas fete ,notably) ,some of which verge on comedy (those with the nurse).

What a treat to buy this old movie from a rare US dealer to add to my Margaret Lockwood (ML) collection.I was in doubt if I would ever find a copy after many days of fruitless research as it is not sold by mainstream video/DVD dealers, never appears on eBay nor is it shown on UK TV networks.In fact the film only seemed to be shown by exclusive cinema clubs.I have a fascination for film noirs made in the year of my birth, i.e. 1946.Barry K Barnes was on her side to defend her as a barrister in "The Girl in the News"(1940) when ML played nurse Graham wrongly accused of murdering her employer.Here in "Bedelia" he plays an insurance investigator who adopts the persona of an artist when under cover, investigating deaths by poison of Bedelia's previous husbands.In "Bedelia" he is out to get her.

Ian Hunter as Charlie Carrington had the good fortune to play opposite Hedy Lamarr in "Come Live With Me" (1941) and here co-stars with ML, another sultry, raven haired beauty.If film fans can visualise Lady Skelton (ML's most famous role) from "The Wicked Lady" (1945) transported from the late 17th century to 1946; this is how she would behave!!It was good to see Anne Crawford again.I have her in my collection in "They Were Sisters" and "Millions Like Us" both from 1943.She tragically died quite young per IMDb's biography.I thought the Vera Caspary story, originally set in Connecticut in 1913, was easily transplanted to Europe in a contemporary setting.It gave ML the chance to wear some attractive costumes.I thought the user rating low at 5.7 and have rated it 7/10 to give it a bit of an uplift.

If any of you can find a copy of this rare film, it will be well worth the effort.

'Bedelia' is directed confidently by Lance Comfort whose unsubtle and brisk style of direction kept him busy on the B-movie circuit and inevitably into TV work during the 1950s.

Interestingly; the story was written by Vera Caspary who specialized in stories about women getting into trouble, including 'Laura', later made famous, of course, by Hitchcock.

Not every film made in the 1940s was a 'Noir'. I see this term being used to describe films that were made in black and white rather than what they actually are... and Bedelia is NOT in my view in any shape or form a 'noir' as I understand one to be. There are certainly no hard-boiled cynical characters, bleak sleazy settings or overly-emphasized shadowy lit scenes here.

Bedelia is a well-crafted suspense movie with memorable characters and performances. Margaret Lockwood is a treat to watch as her pathological insanity slowly reveals itself. The plot is simple yet captivating and (despite everything being laid out rather too obviously) the uptempo direction works well to keep the spectator focused.

Thankfully the drama comes across naturally and doesn't descend into melodrama... which is just as well as there is no comic relief at all in this yarn. Ian Hunter is especially convincing as the poor husband who has the job of dealing with all the women in his life.

There's a good copy of this on YouTube so what are you waiting for? Get that mug of Horlicks, draw the curtains kick off your shoes!

This is quite a well-written, pacy little film noir about a glamorous widow (Margaret Lockwood) who meets and marries a rather naive English businessman (Ian Hunter) and honeymoons in Monte Carlo. There, they befriend a painter (Barry K. Barnes) who is asked to paint her portrait. After they return home, we gradually discover that she has plenty of dark secrets which all start to unravel as we find the painter is not exactly whom he claims to be, and it all culminates in a tense and suspenseful twenty minutes at their remote country home during a snowstorm. It's a little melodramatic at times, but the story flows well and the lead performances are engaging.

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.