Runtime: 100 minutes
Directed by: Except for the opening, Edgar G. Ulmer
Starring: Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, Louis Hayward, Gene Lockhart, Hillary Brooke
From: This was an independent production, but it was picked up by United Artists
It was time again to watch a movie that’s been sitting on the DVR for months, along with it being a nice change of pace. I still haven’t seen enough Hedy Lamarr so that is another good reason to make this selection.
Lamarr is a wild, bold woman (especially for 19th century New England) who is wanton, a maneater, and calculating, even as a child in a scene shot by Douglas Sirk-who was obviously damaged as a kid by her misfortune of having an alcoholic father. As a dumb man like myself, I was amused by her scheming, how she romanced both an old man-the richest dude in town, a timber baron-and his son, by her bold manner. This occurs as in the background, there’s increasing chaos in the town of Bangor, Maine; a police force is needed to quell the drunken revelry and buffoon behavior of the area’s lumberjacks.
Lamarr famously left MGM and formed her own production company, this being the first film that was made. It performed alright at the box office although went over budget. The cast was fine and featured some names I’ve seen in other movies (like Gene Lockhart and Louis Hayward) but of course Hedy was the highlight as the titular strange woman. She was a devilish delight as Jenny. Some may think “good for her” or “YYYAAASSSS Queen!” at her duping multiple stupid men, including George Sanders.
The Hays Code made the conclusion obvious; that didn’t dampen my enthusiasm. This 40’s version of a tawdry melodrama was enjoyable, well-directed by Edgar G. Ulmer… the explanation for Sirk directing the opening: evidently, the original opening involving Ulmer’s own daughter was seen as “unsatisfactory.” The Strange Woman: more than satisfactory, at least in my eyes.
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