The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Overview

In The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, relationships formed in childhood lead to murder and obsessive love. The wealthy Martha Ivers (Barbara Stanwyck) is the prime mover of the small Pennsylvania town of Iverston. Martha lives in a huge mansion with her DA husband Walter O'Neill (Kirk Douglas), an alcoholic weakling. No one knows just why Martha and Walter tolerate one another....but Sam Masterson (Van Heflin), an Iverstown boy who returns to town, may just have a clue. At least that's what Martha thinks when Sam asks Walter to intervene in the case of Toni Marachek (Lizabeth Scott), who has been unjustly imprisoned. It seems that, as a young boy, Sam was in the vicinity when Martha's rich aunt (Judith Anderson) met with her untimely demise. What does Sam know? And what dark, horrible secret binds Martha and Walter together? Directed by Lewis Milestone, and based on John Patrick's Oscar-nominated original story, Love Lies Bleeding, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers creates in Martha a unique and interesting, driven, obsessed and spoiled character, but one not without sympathy. Barbara Stanwyck is outstanding as Martha, with her predatory smile and sharp, manicured nails. Kirk Douglas is surprisingly convincing as a lost, sad, weak man, who loves his wife, but is unable to gain her respect. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers eventually lapsed into public domain and became a ubiquitous presence on cable television.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/08/2020
UPC:	0191092496656
Original Release:	1946
Rating:	NR
Source:	Digicomtv
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	62,025

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Barbara Stanwyck	Martha Ivers
Van Heflin	Sam Masterson
Lizabeth Scott	Antonia 'Toni' Marachek,Actor
Kirk Douglas	Walter O'Neil
Judith Anderson	Mrs. Ivers
Roman Bohnen	Mr. O'Neil
Darryl Hickman	Sam Masterson as a Boy
Janis Wilson	Martha Ivers as a Girl
Ann Doran	Secretary
Frank Orth	Hotel Clerk
James Flavin	Detective No. 1
Mickey Kuhn	Walter O'Neil as a Boy
Charles D. Brown	Special Investigator
Matt McHugh	Bus Driver
Walter Baldwin	Dempsey the Garage Owner,Dempsey the Garage Owner
Catherine Craig	French Maid
Sayre Dearing	Crap Shooter
Harry Leonard	Crap Shooter
William Duray	Waiter
Payne B. Johnson	Bellboy
Max Wagner	Detective No. 2
Tom Fadden	Taxi Driver
Gladden James	John O. Butler
Bert Roach	Man
Ricky Ricardi	Man
Billy Burt	Man
Gene Ashley	Man
Robert E. Homans	Policeman
John Kellogg	Plainclothesman
Al Murphy	Waiter
Kay Deslys	Jail Matron
Bob Perry	Bartender
Olin Howlin	Newspaper Clerk
Blake Edwards	Sailor
Betty Hill	Waitress
Tom Dillon	Detective
Tom Schamp	Policeman
Kernan Cripps	Policeman
Thomas Louden	Lynch the Butler
Tommy Ryan	Actor
Thomas Lockyear	Lynch:Butler
Miklós Rózsa	Composer

Technical Credits

Robert Rossen

Robert Riskin

John Patrick

Lewis Milestone	Director
Robert Rossen	Screenwriter
Robert Riskin	Screenwriter
John Patrick	Screenwriter
Hal B. Wallis	Producer
Farciot Edouart	Special Effects
Harold Lewis	Sound/Sound Designer
Walter Oberst	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
255. Chapters
1. Chapter 1 [5:02]
2. Chapter 2 [4:58]
3. Chapter 3 [5:01]
4. Chapter 4 [4:59]
5. Chapter 5 [5:00]
6. Chapter 6 [4:59]
7. Chapter 7 [5:00]
8. Chapter 8 [5:00]
9. Chapter 9 [5:00]
10. Chapter 10 [5:00]
11. Chapter 11 [4:59]
12. Chapter 12 [4:58]
13. Chapter 13 [5:02]
14. Chapter 14 [4:59]
15. Chapter 15 [5:00]
16. Chapter 16 [4:59]
17. Chapter 17 [4:59]
18. Chapter 18 [5:00]
19. Chapter 19 [4:59]
20. Chapter 20 [5:00]
21. Chapter 21 [5:01]
22. Chapter 22 [5:30]
23. Chapter 23 [5:15]

Menu

Disc #1 -- The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
   Play Movie

Editorial Reviews

Something of a warm-up for the later The File on Thelma Jordan, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers mixes obsession, desire, delusion, ambition, and fear into a fascinating and enthralling tangle. Unusual for a movie of its period, it's fairly sophisticated in dealing with what is, at heart, a "sick" relationship between Martha Ivers (Barbara Stanwyck) and Walter O'Neil (Kirk Douglas), and demonstrating how easily a person (Sam Masterson [Van Heflin]) can get sucked into one. Fortunately for Masterson, he gets out in time, but it's a pretty narrow escape. Ivers is a remarkably tense film, although it's a tension that tends to linger beneath the surface; this is appropriate, as it reflects the turmoil and anxiety that lies under the calm surface of Ivers' and O'Neil's lives. That tension gives the film its life and strange vibrancy, and gives snap to even mundane scenes. There are some problems, notably the fact that the creators don't really seem to have a grasp on Masterson's motivation after the idea of blackmail enters the picture. Is he really interested in the money or is it a plot to get to the bottom of the Martha mystery? But the compelling, multi-layered performances of the stars (including Lizabeth Scott) more than make up for the few flaws in the script.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler