The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

Young Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson) hates her domineering aunt (Judith Anderson) and in a fit of rage kills her. Years later, adult Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) is a successful business owner married to a childhood friend (Kirk Douglas), who knows her secret. When another childhood friend (Van Heflin) returns after many years, the couple conclude he is there to negotiate a price for his silence.

This is the first ever film role for Douglas as a scared little boy, quite against what would later become his type. This is the second appearance of Lizabeth Scott, playing the good but not too good girl. Judith Anderson is great as the Judith Anderson character. See Laura (1944) and Rebecca (1940). It’s a shame she didn’t have more screen time. Stanwyck reportedly exercised a lot of control on the set, perhaps realizing that her career was at an inflection point. She would turn the big four-oh a year later.

This film was adapted from a short story titled Love Lies Bleeding, which is a pretty awesome title. There are at least four other unrelated films with that title. I couldn’t find box office numbers but Strange Love apparently was a success despite the Strange Title.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is an interesting story that perhaps takes a little too long to resolve itself. Back in the day Noir films were simply called melodramas, and this film gets more than a little melodramatic. AMRU 3.5