They Won't Believe Me

Intricately plotted noir with one too many surprises for my book, but is still underrated. Nice guy Robert Young gets to break character and play a real heel for a change. He's not wicked, just weak, following his wife around because that's where the money is. He's about as faithful as a Tom cat in heat, but she's too dependent to care. Even his one noble gesture ends in a fiery crash.

Young looks the part of a married gigolo, all slicked down in fancy suits, sipping martinis in upscale bars. But then who could resist that luscious package Susan Hayward even if she is just an office girl with scheming ambition. Their gambits of conversation amount to little gems of carnal aggression. Pity poor wife Rita Johnson who's all business-like competence, but can hardly compete in the glamor department with either Hayward or the sultry Greer. The faithful stallion is, I guess, her consolation prize and an excellent touch. He's like the eye of fate watching from above the mountain pool in a meaningful moment that foreshadows the reckoning yet to come.

In passing-- I can't help noticing the true-love embrace of Hayward and Young washed clean now in the mountain lake and the similarly meaningful ocean scene of Garfield and Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice. The aftermaths look also suspiciously similar. Postman came out about six months earlier than this one, so draw your own conclusions.

Too bad director Pichel adds so little to the screenplay. Indeed, the story's strong enough to carry interest; still, he films in straightforward, unimaginative fashion. The cross-currents and conflicts, however, cry out for a stronger expressionistic approach, especially the waterfall and pool scenes. A better noir director like Siodmak or Lang could have deepened the visuals to complement the strong screenplay. Also, someone muffs the staging of the very last scene which comes across as incredible given the crowded courtroom and police guards. It also distracts from an interesting ambiguity-- is Young too weak to face a verdict or has he simply passed judgement on himself.

For those of us who remember the wholesome TV series Father Knows Best, seeing Young here takes some getting used to.

Robert Young? In a noir? He's near his best here, though for me his best is "Lady Be Good," in which he seems to be having a truly great time.

Jane Greer looks luscious. Susan Hayward is very good -- though her best was "I Can Get It For You Wholesale." And Rita Johnson is good, in a different type of role from her usual.

The rise and fall and rise and fall of a womanizer.

It's well plotted, though slightly dull till the final five minutes. Then, the climax: No one who's ever seen this will forget it. (And I'm certainly not going to give it away.)

Larry Ballentine is on trial and isn't helped by the fact that his unshaven defence lawyer isn't risking cross-examining the witnesses because their statements have built such a strong case against his client. Ballentine's main hope is that he can take the stand and convince the jury that he is innocent of his crime. He tells the story of how he met Vernia and how they fell in love, only for him to be trapped between the two women in two relationships and the lack of courage to go one way or the other.

A nicely tough little film that twists a relationship drama with a pulpy thriller to produce a film that doesn't always work but just has enough of a hook to it to hold me from start to finish. For the majority of the film we are following Ballentine as he fails to do anything with his life other than be a real low-life in how he treats the women in his life, however we also have the ongoing hook of the court case to keep us interested in where it is going. In both these threads the film works reasonably well and, despite being a bit melodramatic, is generally a good pulpy drama with nice use of guns and interesting (if obvious) references to drug use (heroin – the horse with the taste for sugar). It gets tougher as it goes along and our "hero" gets in deeper and deeper to the point where the "perfect crime" appears a possibility (had he never seen this genre before!). It is a generally good plot and I liked it although I could see why the mix of relationships, court cases and crime would not sit so easy for most viewers.

The cast are pretty good. Although the main character Young is given second billing to a delicious performance from Hayward who plays her character really well. Young is also good though, playing his character smart enough to try and get out of his situation but also weak enough to get into it. Support from Greer, Johnson and a few others do well to fill out the cast. Pichel's direction has some good atmosphere when required but is mostly just solid and standard for the genre, although the general delivery of the story is good and well put together.

Overall a solid pulpy drama that touches on noir and melodrama at different stages. The mix works well and I enjoyed the story, the characters and the acting. I did think that the court case frame could have been used better to inject more of a sense of doom to it and the ending was a bit "fair" due to the period pressures but still I enjoyed it and found it interesting.

They Won't Believe Me is directed by Irving Pichel and adapted to screenplay by Jonathan Latimer from a story by Gordon McDonell. It stars Robert Young, Susan Hayward, Jane Greer and Rita Johnson. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Harry J. Wild.

Larry Ballentine (Young) is on trial for murder and he tells his story in flashback. Three dames and fate does not a good mix make.

"She looked like a very special kind of dynamite, neatly wrapped in nylon and silk. Only I wasn't having any. I'd been too close to one explosion already. I was powder shy".

A splendid slice of noir drama is put together by a group of film makers who knew how to make the noir style of film making work. The story has all the requisite ingredients to lure the interested viewers in, twists and turns, vipers and snipers, dialogue so sharp you could cut a steak with it, and a love rat protagonist (Young splendid in a break from his normal roles) being toyed with by Old Noir Nick and his friend The Fate.

In true noir tradition the plot is a little "out there", the middle section drags at times, while Harry Wild's cinematography doesn't kick in till a good hour into the play (worth the wait though!). But this is a little noir treasure waiting to be seen by more people. It's not unknown, the cast list ensures that is not the case, but in film noir circles it doesn't often crop up for discussion. It should, for it's tricky and devilish and pays off with a finale straight out of noirville. 8/10

Robert Young as a philanderer - that should tip you off that "They Won't Believe Me" is going to be unusual. Before finding success as a warm dad and a kind doctor on television, Young often played romantic roles, earnest roles, or the uptight boss. Occasionally, though, the role of someone with a criminal mind would sneak in. Here, Young plays a man who marries a woman for her money and then cheats on her constantly - though he always goes back to the comforts of home. After dumping one woman, portrayed by Jane Greer, he picks up with a secretary in his securities firm, a young Susan Hayward - he leaves her, too, but has second thoughts. The result is a very interesting drama, told in flashback.

This is an excellent movie with a surprise ending that probably was insisted on to satisfy the code. The acting is very good all around. Young comes off as just slimy enough without being offensively so; Hayward's gold digger is glamorous, sexy, and conniving; and Jane Greer, in the most sympathetic role, looks fabulous and is her usual marvelous self as a woman who can't help loving this man, even with his flaws. Rita Johnson is very good as Young's attractive and determined wife.

All in all, I really enjoyed "They Won't Believe Me." Very entertaining.