The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Director: Lewis Milestone
Paramount Pictures
DVD: DVD Matters b.v. (1997); Paramount Home Video (2005)

It always rains in Iverstown

Iverstown is the kind of place you recognize from a highway exit sign while on your way to somewhere else. An industrial town with factories and freight yards, hotels and cafes that are, in the words of Sam Masterson, "not good, not bad". On September 27, 1928, two very unhappy teenagers make a deal with the devil. It's seventeen years later, and payback is the Mother of Film Noir.

"The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" stars Barbara Stanwyck as the title character. She's rich, she's tough, and she has a secret that is rotting her soul. Kirk Douglas (in his film debut) plays her husband, District Attorney Walter P. O'Neil, who deals with his pain the old-fashioned way. If fate had been kinder, he would "probably be governor some day". Instead, his major concern is getting his browbeaten body to the liquor cabinet. This exercise in misery sets the tone for one of the best films of the 1940's.

All of this duplicity and anguish might be manageable were it not for the return of Sam Masterson (Van Heflin), former juvenile delinquent turned professional gambler, and Martha's teenage crush. Breezing through town, he collides with a telephone pole, and pulls into Iverstown for repairs. Here he meets Toni Marachek (Lizabeth Scott), an attractive but dead-end kind of gal, sitting on the stairs of his old house. It seems she has more than a passing acquaintance with the law. When she's hauled in for violation of probation, Sam seeks a favor from his old friend, now D.A. Walter O'Neil. Walter suspects Sam may be privy to the secret that could ruin his political career, as well as Martha's powerful position as head of E. P. Ivers, the company she inherited from her late aunt. As Walter sizes-up the grown-up Sam, he believes he is being fitted for blackmail.

A talented cast and crew

Director Lewis Milestone received two Academy Awards in his career ("Two Arabian Knights, 1927; "All Quiet on the Western Front", 1930), and does a meat-and-potatoes job with this studio-bound production. John Patrick was nominated for his original story, "Love Lies Bleeding", and Robert Rossen, who wrote the screenplay, would produce and direct 1949's best picture winner "All the King's Men". With all that talent behind the screen, the main appeal of this film is still the scene-stealing power of the then unknown 29 year-old Douglas, who reportedly made a big impression on Stanwyck with his talent and professionalism.

I have to admit I've always liked Lizabeth Scott. As a Hal Wallis contract player, her learn-as-you-go style of acting has an earnest quality that lends credibility to such roles as the pathological Jane Palmer in 1949's "Too Late For Tears". Here she has appeal as the self-admitted hard luck girl from the wrong side of town. Her hotel room scenes with Heflin are quite good - her reaction to Sam's gift of a gold necklace is appropriately sweet and spontaneous. When Martha shows up unexpectedly ("I have special privileges in this hotel, Sam. I own it"), she and Toni exchange some wonderfully bitter dialogue. This is the only scene Stanwyck and Scott have together, and they work it hard.

I can't think of an actress other than Barbara Stanwyck who could have played Martha Ivers with as much determination as the role required. If she was typecast as a Femme Fatale - what a legacy! Truth is, she was great in screwball comedy (1941's "Ball of Fire"), homespun comedies (1944's "Christmas in Connecticut"), and melodramas such as the subject of this review. It is roles like Martha Ivers and Phyllis Dietrichson, from Billy Wilder's 1944 classic "Double Indemnity" that highlight a remarkable body of work.

Van Heflin plays Sam Masterson with a cocky confidence. He's no angel ("Beat a murder rap in Frisco - self defense"); his bad boy beginnings have made him tough, but fair. He knows the parameters of right and wrong - and unlike Martha and Walter, he has a conscience. MGM pinned leading-man hopes on Heflin, but he was better suited to supporting roles. His biggest success was as the alcoholic sidekick Jeff Hartnett in 1942's "Johnny Eager", a role which earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The supporting cast includes such notable talents as Judith Anderson as Martha's aunt, and a very young Blake Edwards who has three lines as the hitch-hiking sailor who's on board when Heflin hits the pole. Character actress Ann Doran makes the most of her limited screen time as O'Neil's secretary. John Kellogg has an uncredited role as the P.I. hired to give Masterson a work-over.

What you get

The 1997 DVD Matters b.v. release is rather standard issue. Special Features include brief biographies of cast and crew, and a language menu on which the only choice is Japanese subtitles. The occasional spots, scratches and original source deterioration make this earlier release unacceptable to the discriminating viewer. Unless you anticipate non English-speaking Japanese friends dropping in to enjoy movie night, go for the 2005 version. Although I have not yet viewed the later release, the Paramount released material I have seen has been of very good to excellent quality. The four stars given in this review reflect the quality of the film itself. Technically, the DVD itself rates about two stars.

Regardless of whether you're a fan of Noir, this film is significant in that it is the debut of Douglas in a role unlike that which eventually made him a star. It is Scott's second film, and arguably her best supporting performance. The story is complex, but well executed. It is one of my favorites because it's the kind of film where repeated viewing reveals previously undetected treasures.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older