NOIRVEMBER: THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS

THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS 

1946)

Dir. Lewis Milestone

Starring Barbara Stanwick, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott


I had only seen this once before and remembered it being a mixed bag despite the talent involved. My feelings haven't changed. 

The core story here of Van Heflin's character returning to the town he escaped as a kid and only finding various disaffected characters, unable to move on, is compelling. Unfortunately, the love triangle he finds himself entangled in with Stanwick and Douglas is much less so. It doesn't have anywhere that interesting to go so it must resolve itself with silly, unmotivated operatics. All these actors are great but all have better showcases in better movies. Lizabeth Scott does distinguish herself here though. This is one of her better performances and the interplay between her and Heflin is the highlight of the film for me.