The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

Martha Ivers: You've *killed* before, it's in your record.
Sam Masterson: *I* never *murdered*.

Director: Lewis Milestone
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Main Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Helfin, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas
Runtime: 111 minutes

Being straight to the point, Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity), Lizabeth Scott (Too Late for Tears), Van Helfin (Shane) and a first feature film by Kirk Douglas (Out of the Past, Spartacus) all star in this wonderful Film Noir that will keep you in for the whole trip.

A young Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson) has a close friendship with a young Sam Masterson (Darryl Hickman) and distrustful relationship with a young Walter O,Neil (Mickey Kuhn).  Martha and Sam have run away in a hope to get away from her rich aunt Mrs Ivers (Judith Anderson), however they are caught and Martha is dragged to her aunts with tragic consequences while Sam runs away.  Years later, Sam (Van Helfin) returns to his hometown only to realise that Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) and Walter (Kirk Douglas) are now married and the young “cry baby” Walter appears to be a different person but both have a secret that cannot be revealed.  Sam crosses paths with Toni (Lizabeth Scott) and strikes a quick friendship that soon turns into something more however the past love Sam has for Martha still lingers.  As Sam meets up with Walter and Martha that past begins to haunt them.

The ratings for this film are certainly justified.  The acting is great and the story really, really good with suspense, mystery and a good ol dose of noir.  I must confess that I have only seen Lizabeth Scott in one movie prior to this (Too Late for Tears) and was impressed and she is just as good in this and that’s not putting down the great efforts by Van Helfin, Barbara Stanwyck and Kirk Douglas.  The title of the film is quite appropriate for the movie as Martha is indeed an odd over powering character that loves to get her own way while Kirk surprising plays the opposite when his defenses are down.  It’s quite amazing how one little flash of temper can haunt you for the rest of your life and how true that is for us even today. If you havnt seen this one yet, get your paws on a copy of the DVD and sit back and enjoy the show!

The DVD reviewed is the Australian release and is shown in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with the usual Dolby Mono audio which sounds fine.  The image is really good with some film grain present, few scratches, speckles and blotches all of which makes for a fine viewing experience especially considering that some scenes are in the dark which would make a weak transfer stand out.  There are no special features on the DVD.  There is a Region Free Bluray available from the U.S. but frankly unless you really wanted the few extra special features, I would stick with the DVD as the Bluray can look a bit waxy due to extra noise reduction that frankly was not required when comparing it to the DVD.  For less the $10 AUD you can get the Aussie DVD and a great image.

Overall it’s a great film that I would highly recommend and would be on the “must-see” list for any film noir freaks.  It’s just a really well acted story backed up with suspense and for less than AUD10, it’s a bargain.

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