Graham’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Do I laugh now, or wait 'til it gets funny?"
- Walter Neff
You've heard of the 'Whodunnit' movie right? Well this is a 'Howdunnit'. The culprit is identified early on, and the rest of the movie explains how (and why) it all went down.
For its time, this was super impressive on many levels and frankly kicks the arse of many current crime-style movies. It's film noir, grunge-y LA style is slick and despite knowing what happened, the 'why' is so engrossing it really keeps you engaged. I couldn't take my eyes off it.
There are a few moments that stood out as a little cringe-worthy after all this time (like anyone at all in the movie doing any kind of manual labor being black, and the repeated use of 'baby' when referring to the female lead).
Barbara Stanwyck really delivered in this one as the seductive housewife. The details were lovely, like the ankle bracelet: a nice touch to match her character style. Urban legend at the time had it that a married woman wearing an 'anklet' was a sign of availability, despite being married. The saucy minx!
It's not quite Billy Wilder's best work, but this is still a great, great movie. A classic. Timeless. Go watch it!
Watched as part of Scavenger Hunt #64 | July 2020 - #6/31
