The Strange Woman(1946):
Never let it be said that I don't give things a chance. I said I was willing to be proven wrong about my opinions on Ulmer, and I have. While I enjoyed Bluebeard's second act, I have to admit that Detour was the only film of Ulmer's I thought was truly a masterpiece.
Boy Oh Boy. Figuring that it would be fitting to follow up Strange Illusion with another Ulmer film I was aware of with "Strange" in the title(as well as being intrigued by the film's A-list cast, something Ulmer usually didn't have the privilege of utilizing very often), I settled back and watched this sucker on Archive.org.
Wow. Not only is this film a pleasant surprise, it is without a doubt the single most mature, well-crafted, well-acted and enjoyable film Ulmer ever concieved. I already feel that on re-watchings it will grow to become a favorite.
It's 1824 in Bangor, New England. Town drunk Tim Hager(Dennis Hoey), disgruntled after his wife runs off with a sailor, is left pondering how to raise his young daughter Jenny, as the entire town is disgusted by his drinking, but also afraid for the child's safety, knowing that he couldn't properly provide for her, and Tim knows this too. Fortunately(or to be more accurate, unfortunately), Jenny is anything but a demure shy little girl who can't look out for herself, she's a hellion who leads the local bullies, engages in stunts that most boys wouldn't dare, and spends her time tormenting Ephraim Poster(that's his name, honest), shy son of local businessman Isaiah Poster(Gene Lockhart). A great example of what kind of person she is comes right when we first meet her, she taunts Ephraim for not being able to swim, even though he's deathly afraid of water. When he turns his back, she then pushes him into the water and he starts to drown, which horrifies the local bullies and makes them all run off. A regular Rhoda Penmark. Poor Ephraim is saved only by the appearence of magistrate Saladine(the always reliable Alan Napier), whose arrival causes Jenny to swiftly dive in and pretend to save Ephraim(but not before slugging her friend Meg to keep her from telling the truth). Jenny is proclaimed a hero.
Damn! Imagine what kind of person she's going to be when she grows up! As she tells her dad, one day, she'll have everything she wants because she'll grow up to be very beautiful, and men will grovel at her feet. That she does indeed, because the next time we see her(as an adult) she's played by no less a vixen than Hedy Lamarr!!!(wonderfully staged by showing her reflection in rippling water as a child, then having the water clear and show her as an adult to indicate the passage of time).
No, not this guy.
As you can guess, Jenny is a conniving little slut who has just about every man in the village wrapped around her finger, but most especially the kindly Isaiah, who sees hismelf as her protector, even though she manipulates, and at one point robs him blind. However, Tim recognizes what she is, and in a drunken fit, attempts to beat her, but she murders him. She then runs around to Isaiah's mansion and feeds everyone a story about how her father tried to kill her, using the actual(minimal)wounds she recieved as proof. The smitten Isaiah allows her protection, and then, after a meeting with the village elders, agrees to marry her so that Tim can never get to her(it's never explained what happens to the body). Initially, she is shunned, but after seizing yet another advantage to make herself out to be a better person than she is, talks Isaiah into donating a thousand dollars to the church after a particularly rousing speech by the local preacher, which puts her in everyone's good graces. Looking like a saint in everyone's eyes, things seem to be going swell for Jenny, until an increasingly bitter Isaiah, who begins to understand how manipulative she is, becomes more and more of a thorn in her side. Things are further complicated by the arrival of the now adult Ephraim(Louis Hayward), with whom Jenny is instantly smitten, seeing him not as a sissy, but as a handsome young man and a refreshing alternative to elderly Isaiah. Ephraim, apparently having come to believe that she really did save him as a child, returns her love, especially since Isaiah now inexplicably despises him. The two carry on a Wuthering Heights-style romance, and things seem to be going well because Isaiah comes down with a serious illness and is not expected to live longer, and if he doesn't die then there's always the chance that his death can be pinned on local lumberjacks, who are out of work and rioting in town. But Isaiah still lives! Now Jenny has a different solution to her problem, you see, Isaiah wants Ephraim to come with him on a business trip, and she wants Ephraim to go too, but only if he agrees to come back alone, if you know what I mean.....
Can poor Ephraim do it? To make matters worse, it seems Jenny isn't just planning on getting rid of Isaiah, but Ephraim as well, you see, there's a big, rugged, handsome business associate of Isaiah's named John Evered(George Sanders), who suddenly seems much more attractive to her than Ephraim. Uh oh.
While it sounds like a typical gold-digger drama, Strange Woman is an incredibly complex and character-oriented film which packs some genuine emotional weight, several brilliant plot twists, and a sombre ending that still is being debated to this day. It's just one of those films that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. In addition to a great story, the film also features some great cinematography and sets, great dialogue and excellent performances from the entire cast. Louis Hayward is outstanding in his portrayal of the guilt-wracked, manipulated Ephraim, it will be hard not to shed a tear or two for his character. He may be the most screwed over of all of Ulmer's characters, he makes Al Roberts from Detour look like Gladstone Gander in comparison. Gene Lockhart sees the character of Isaiah through from his transformation from comedy relief, to father figure, to smitten everyman, to henpecked husband, to embittered miser and is absolutely believable in all aspects of the role. George Sanders manges to make the character of the warm, moralistic John likeable and sympathetic instead of just a huge dumb fuck. Dennis Hoey makes good in the brief role of Tim. He's a drunk and violent man, but he's not abusive, simply a basically good but embittered man who has been pushed too far and sees his daughter for the monster she truly is. And Alan Napier is good in everything I've seen him in. Of course, the real standout is Hedy Lamarr. Rather than playing Jenny as a one-dimensional bitch like Vera from Detour, or as a Mary Pickford-style victim of human cruelty, she plays her as an ambitious woman who is simply too lucky for those around her and who knows how to grab opportunity and not let it go. The problem is is that she lacks anything resembling a conscience. Or does she? That's a question you'll have to see the film to decide, and even then you may not be certain. Hell, I just watched it a few minutes ago and I'm still uncertain. There's still plenty to enjoy in her performance however, like how early on in the film when she exxagerates her beating and shows off her bruises by exposing her back and upper body, seemingly just displaying herself as evidence, but at the same time obviously exposing her flesh to titilate the men watching. Any actress who can pull that off without fumbling it deserves all the praise she can get. I also love how the character grabs hold of every detail imaginable to create a plausible alibi and excuse for her behavior. Jenny is a master manipulator par excellence. Her sometimes coquettish innocence, her guileless cruelty and manipualtion, all wonderfully portrayed. Lamarr should have been nominated.
I have to hand it to Ulmer, this film really and truly is a masterpiece. Both a life story, a character study, a crime drama, a love story, a morality play and even briefly, a horror movie. Really, the only negative thing that can be said about it is that it hardly seems like an Ulmer film at all. No heavy-handed symbolism, no bizzare hallucinatory sequences, no bombastic classical music, nothing at all like his usual stuff. While there are some things the story has in common with Ulmer's other films( a manipulative woman, a man dragged into a web of murder, a gold-digger, incest, thunderstorms) these are superficial at best, and since this film was based off a novel, were probably unintentional. This may seem cruel, but this film's biggest strength basically is that it's not really an Ulmer film stylistically. Which is pretty sad when you consider that Ulmer is considered a "Master stylist" and this masterpiece has none of his style. Nevertheless, the film is too good to dismiss as a fluke like Detour and the latter half of Bluebeard. So yes, this film really is Ulmer's masterpiece. It's also his classiest as well. No satan worshippers, telephone-cord stranglings and mad painters here, just pure human drama. I give it my highest reccomendations.
Now in order to balance out this classiness, next I think I'll review a film of Ulmer's more typical of his output, which is anything but mature and classy, a film I haven't seen in years but just know is going to be bad. Hint: It's an amazingly transparent film, man.