A Mulher Falada

I personally enjoyed this film. It was something that I had been trying to catch up with on Talking Pictures for months - I kept recording it, without getting around to watching it.

The film had an interesting story telling technique - five witnesses giving different versions of the story, all conflicting with each other. I have wondered who thought of the idea first, the makers of the Japanese film: "Rashomon"; or the makers of this film, seeing that both films were released in the same year.

The film seemed to reflect a lot about what it was like living in Post War Britain: rationing, black market, austerity and people struggling to make a living.

The parts about neighbours just walking in and out each other's houses would seem a bit far-fetched to the younger viewers of today, but although some of my childhood memories of the 1950's are a bit patchy, I do remember life being like that.

However, I don't think a newspaper delivery boy would have been allowed to go through the front door and right up into a woman's bedroom just to deliver a paper.

I thought the way Jean Kent, Susan Shaw and some of the other players were able to take on entirely different personalities as each version of the story unfolded was quite commendable - some smart pieces of acting there.

I was guessing about who the murderer was all the way through the film.

Made the same year - 1950 - as Rashomon which is acclaimed for retelling the same story several ways, The Woman in Question does the very same, allowing Jean Kent to portray five rather different versions of Astra, the fortune teller. The women in the film are much better drawn than the men, despite both the director and writer being themselves men, and despite the narrative framework of the all-male police team. Some would attribute this to Asquith's gay perspective. The combined portrait of Astra is not very flattering, especially her refusal to visit her dying husband, and in her using Pollard, the pet-shop keeper, to work for her for free, but then refusing his polite advances, she is walking a dangerous line. The underlying sadness of her person comes through, but she is not as sad as Pollard.

The outstanding secondary character is Mrs Finch, the nosey neighbour from next door who never stops talking. Hermione Baddeley, in the part, practically steals the first part of the film to the extent that the rest almost seems like an anticlimax. Her characterization, her way of speech, the hairnet and the pinafore, owe a lot to the English tradition of comical working-class characters that goes back to renaissance theatre, was developed in the Music Hall, and is a precursor of the Monty-Python housewives chatting over the back fence. That is, it is very easy to see her as done by Dan Leno or Al Reid. A change of emphasis and we have a drag routine.

When a fortune teller named Astra (Jean Kent) is found murdered, the police investigate and hear several versions of the kind of woman she was in "The Woman in Question," a 1950 British film directed by Anthony Asquith. Besides Kent, the film features the excellent Hermoine Baddeley and Dirk Bogarde, still in the early part of his career.

The police interview five women and therefore, get five different stories. To her neighbor Mrs. Finch (Baddeley), Astra was pure class, gracious and sophisticated with questionable taste in men.

To Pollard, the owner of the pet store who was crazy about her, she was pretty, quiet, and sweet (though the audience can see how manipulative she is); to Baker (Bogarde) who wants to do a nightclub act with her, she is a tart; to her sister, she's a slovenly drunk.

Finally, from a violent sailor, Mike Murray, she's a faithless woman who cheats on him while he's away. We do learn that Astra's husband is in a hospital, badly injured in the war and not expected to live, yet she doesn't visit him. She also lets Pollard do things for her for free and must realize he has a crush on her.

All in all, an interesting and sometimes funny film. Kent is excellent in all of Astra's manifestations, and, since I am a Dirk Bogarde fan, I loved seeing him and hearing him with an American accent (which he actually did pretty well). Baddeley, always excellent, is a riot.

"Five Angles on Murder" or "The Woman in Question" is not the most exciting film you'll ever see, and like a lot of British films, it's a bit slow in the beginning, but it's enjoyable.

A great cast and performance by some of Britain's best 50s-60s headliners, including Dirk Bogard and Susan Shaw. Hermione Baddely as usual, gave a great convincing performance..

An intriguing suspense murder mystery, with a dialogue that twists and turns, beginning with the discovery of a womans murder.. The narrative is then told to the police inspector individually, through the recollections of those acquainted closest to the victim (which there are many) I really enjoyed this style of whodunit murder mystery, as it gives the storyline so much more depth into each character, and creativity on different levels..

Jean Kents performance was exillerarating, authentic and believable.! I'm an avid fan of British B movies, especially the crime genre but, this is quite in a class of its own.!

I did however guess the killer (it was obvious) but for those never having seen this movie before, I recommend you take time to watch it. It'll keep you guessing until the end :) I have watched 'A Woman In Question' over the years numerous times and I still enjoy watching it whenever shown, immensely..!

They don't make them like they used to...!!!

Both "Five Angles on Murder" and the Kurosawa film "Rashomon" came out the same year, so it's very possible that neither film influenced the other-- though they sure have a similar style. Both films consist of a mystery and you see the story through different folks' eyes...and they have extremely different views on exactly what ACTUALLY happened. Both are worth seeing, though by many "Rashomon" is considered a classic.

When the film begins, a child finds a woman dead in her flat. Apparently she was murdered and the police interrogate several people to try to determine what happened. First is the landlady and her interview seems to dubious value as she seems to let her emotions color what she thinks of everyone. She LOVED the deceased and HATED her friend, Mr. Baker (Dirk Bogarde). When the police talk to the deceased's sister, she sees Baker very differently...as she was in love with him. She also thought her sister was a shrill and vicious woman. And so the movie goes...with the police interviewing different folks and all having a very different view of the dead woman as well as their opinions about who was responsible for her fate.

Of all the folks in the film, Jean Kent really stands out as the victim. This is because she had to play such a different character depending on the viewpoint of the interviewee...ranging from almost sickly sweet and refined to coarse and god-awful! It takes talent to have such range! While I would never say the film is as good as the Kurosawa film, it IS very good and very well made...far better than most British pictures of the era.