Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Not part of a collection.
It could happen to so many married women!
After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
CinemaSerf
Jul 9, 2022 · via TMDB
What is it about folks in movies who find dead bodies? Rather than just call the police and rely on them to adequately do their jobs, they always find themselves embroiled in silly, self-inflicted plots that almost always cause far more trouble... Here is another such example. Joan Bennett is "Lucia", a rather bored housewife whose husband is always away, and whose young daughter "Bea" (Geraldine Brooks) is having a fling with the rather roguish "Ted" (Shepperd Strudwick). Her mother tries to put a stop to the relationship, be he wants paying off - she tells him to get lost. Next day, he confronts poor old "Bea" with the truth, a tussle ensues and soon "Ted" is down with the fishes, the daughter having tried to cover her tracks. Police find the corpse, and enter James Mason ("Donnelly") and his even more unscrupulous partner "Nagel" (Roy Roberts) who have some incriminating letters and want $5,000 to keep them from the investigation. Mother, determined to save her irresponsible child, tries to accommodate the blackmailer and over time their dynamic changes somewhat... It's quite a quirky story with two good performances - Mason, quite understated and Bennett measured - even when under quite a bit of pressure, and the direction from Max Opuls keeps the pace well. Sadly, he struggles to see it off the rocks of melodrama as we near the end, but even that is a bit different.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
James Mason
Martin Donnelly
Joan Bennett
Lucia Harper
Geraldine Brooks
Bea Harper
Henry O'Neill
Tom Harper
Shepperd Strudwick
Ted Darby
Roy Roberts
Nagel
Jessie Arnold
Old Lady (uncredited)
Al Bain
Man (uncredited)
Pat Barton
Receptionist (uncredited)
Gail Bonney
Woman (uncredited)
Chet Brandenburg
Department Store Customer (uncredited)
Peter Brocco
Pete the Bartender (uncredited)
Paul E. Burns
Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Kathryn Card
Mrs. Loring (uncredited)
Claire Carleton
Woman (uncredited)
Karl 'Killer' Davis
Wrestler (uncredited)
Charles Evans
Bank Official (uncredited)
Everett Glass
Drug Clerk (uncredited)
Robert Gordon
Man (uncredited)
Harry Harvey
Post Office Clerk (uncredited)
Virginia Hunter
Girl (uncredited)
Charles Jordan
Man (uncredited)
Kenneth Kendall
Man (uncredited)
Norman Leavitt
Second Postal Clerk (uncredited)
Mike Mahoney
Policeman (uncredited)
Louis Mason
Mike (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley
Bank Guard (uncredited)
Dorothy Phillips
Woman (uncredited)
Cosmo Sardo
Man (uncredited)
William Schallert
Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
Ann Shoemaker
Mrs. Catherine Feller (uncredited)
Frances E. Williams
Sybil (uncredited)
Harry Wilson
Man in Bus Depot (uncredited)
Jean Louis
Costume Designer
Earl Bellamy
Assistant Director
Max Ophüls
Director
Morris Stoloff
Music Director
Goodnight, Soleil
One Shoe Makes it Murder
Summertime
The Long Memory
Bravetown
They Made Me a Fugitive
Nowhere to Go
Daybreak
The Crooked Web
Murder Without Tears
A Dangerous Profession
The Savage Eye
When the Lights Went Out
I Was a Communist for the FBI
My Gun Is Quick
Somebody Is Waiting
Parole, Inc.
Guayabo
No Escape
Fifteen
Mildred Pierce
Shadow of a Doubt
The Web
Nightfall
The Glass Key
Born to Kill
The File on Thelma Jordon
They Made Me a Fugitive
Seeds of Yesterday
Time Without Pity
M
Framed
Witness to Murder
The Locket
A Kiss Before Dying
Sleep, My Love
The Dark Past
The Truth About Emanuel
Cause for Alarm!
One & Two
Dec 29, 1949
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
Aloe Blacc @ Baloise Session 2025
2025
Mudville
2026
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
Aloe Blacc @ Baloise Session 2025
2025
Mudville
2026
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.