A Woman's Secret

Director: Nicholas Ray Nicholas Ray

Overview

Screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz adopts the same prismatic-flashback technique he'd used so well in Citizen Kane for the 1949 filmic soap opera A Woman's Secret. Based on a novel by Vicki (Grand Hotel) Baum, the film begins with the shooting of nightclub singer Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame). Marian Washburn (Maureen O'Hara), who'd coached Susan into the Big Time, confesses to the shooting. Neither Marian's piano-player friend Luke Jordan (Melvyn Douglas) nor police inspector Fowler (Jay C. Flippen) completely buy her story, and it is their probing investigation of the facts that sparks the flashback parade. The film details in sometimes clever, sometimes maudlin fashion the perils of living one's life vicariously through the accomplishments of others. Though filmed before director Nicholas Ray's "official" debut feature They Live by Night, A Woman's Secret was released afterward.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/21/2012
UPC:	0883316574065
Original Release:	1949
Source:	Warner Archives
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[monaural]
Language:	English
Time:	1:24:00
Sales rank:	2,301

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Maureen O'Hara	Marian Washburn
Gloria Grahame	Susan Caldwell
Melvyn Douglas	Luke Jordan,Policeman
Bill Williams	Lee Crenshaw
Victor Jory	Brook Matthews
Mary Philips	Mrs. Fowler
Jay C. Flippen	Inspector Fowler
Robert Warwick	Roberts
Curt Conway	Doctor
Ann Shoemaker	Mrs. Matthews
Virginia Farmer	Mollie
Ellen Corby	Nurse
Emory Parnell	Desk Sergeant
Dan Foster	Stage Manager
Alphonse Martell	Waiter
Eddie Borden	Waiter
Charles Wagenheim	Piano Player
Marcelle De LaBrosse	Baker
Lynn Whitney	Actress
Rory Mallinson	Benson
Lee Phelps	Policeman
Mickey Simpson	Policeman
Guy Beach	Policeman
Tom Coleman	Policeman
Raymond Bond	Dr. Ferris
Bill Purington	Intern
Alvin Hammer	Fred
Bernice Young	Nurse
Lorelei Vitek	Waitress
John Goldsworthy	Harold,Harold
Frederic Nay	Master of Ceremonies
Forbes Murray	Mr. Emory
Frank Marlowe	Whitey
Donna Gibson	Girl
Evelyn Underwood	Girl
Ralph Montgomery	Photographer
John Parrish	Prof. Camelli
Oliver Blake	Mr. Pierson
Paul Guilfoyle	Moderator
Jack Rourke	Announcer
Norman Nesbitt	Announcer
Conrad Binyon	Messenger Boy
Ralph Stein	Mr. Harris
Robert Malcolm	Bit
John Laing	Radio Announcer
C. Bakaleinikoff	Studio Recording Session Conductor
James Conaty	Ship Passenger
Bert Davidson	Radio Director
Marcel de la Brosse	French Baker
Friedrich Hollaender	Composer

Technical Credits

Vicki Baum

Russell A. Cully	Special Effects
Herman J. Mankiewicz	Producer
Nicholas Ray	Director
Vicki Baum	Screenwriter
Clem Portman	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Francis M. Sarver	Sound Effects
A. Wolcott	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

A very uneven little mystery flick, A Woman's Secret has so much going for it that it's a shame it can't keep from stumbling as often as it does. Let's start with Herman Mankiewicz's tasty dialogue, which comes in several flavors. Some of it is tart and tangy, especially when Gloria Graham is feeling feisty. Some is an intriguing mixture of world weary flippancy and gung ho enthusiasm, often courtesy of Melvyn Douglas. There's some silliness, some cynicism, some hardboiled -- a nice little smorgasbord. Mankiewicz's structure is a smorgasbord, too; that eventually becomes a problem, as the complexity of the plot sets up an expectation for a smash-band ending. Instead, we get a "that's IT?" resolution, and never do understand why Maureen O'Hara tells the lie that she does. Graham's character also doesn't come across clearly; she's two different people, and it feels as if a scene is missing that ties the two pieces together. And Nicholas Ray's direction is uneven, excellent in places, but disinterested in others. O'Hara also struggles a bit; she looks gorgeous, but she seems uncomfortable at times. Grahame does very well, even if she can't reconcile the two halves of her character, and Douglas is aces all the way. Throw in some nice work by Jay C. Flippen and Mary Philips, and there's plenty here to make Secret worth watching -- and to make you wish it was as good overall as it is at its best.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler