The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Just four great actors out-doing each other in every scene. Utterly bleak movie. Poor man sent to the gallows for a crime not committed. He is mentioned only in passing as an aspect that never matters in the world of the rich. They’re nothing but thieves, scum and cogs to be exploited. The rich are incapable of truly loving anything except the idealized version of what they imagine their lives SHOULD be. Don’t look back you saw what happened to lot’s wife

Great performances by the 4 leads (including Douglas in an atypically wussy-boy role). But several aspects of the plot were a bit goofy (Heflin just deciding on the spur of the moment to revisit, and his fortuitous meeting with Scott). Also the whole thing was a bit static; it often seemed more a situation than a story. Lots of atmosphere anyway, and I must say that the characters of the prologue meshed rather seamlessly with their adult counterparts.

Superior, and way too underappreciated, noir. This has it all and you can't go wrong with Stanwyck as femme fatale.

Good concept, easy watch, some bad moments but gets progressively better up until the end. The beginning is so awful, it looks cheesy and the murder scene is laughable. The music needed to be dialed down a bit as well, a bit too invasive for me. I still enjoyed it a lot but it isn't flawless.

Four fantastic, and varied, performances are the key to the film, as is a strong and well crafted dramatic arc. The few dubious plot points are addressed and the whole thing is just a joy to watch. The underlying themes of guilt, regret and moral codes is quite well done.

Despite having a very interesting main idea, "The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers" doesn't manage to become particularly remarkable. The script is uneven, the acting either hyperbolic or plain uninteresting (only Kirk Douglas is actually good in what was his first role) and, overall, there's nothing really memorable about it all. It does have some good scenes and ideas, but it's too long and unfocused.

Man this was a great film, filled with stilted dialogue, twisted characters, high drama, a surprising climax and strangely enough a happy ending. All the main actors give great performances. I don't really consider this to be a film noir, it's more of a dark dramatic character study with slight noir elements.

Strong noir that seems to have slipped through the cracks. Top notch performances from all the top stars. It's also an interesting analysis of paranoia existing not because of remorse, but out of the general fear of getting caught after the fact. Self-preservation at its sleaziest.

My 2nd Van Heflin film, and I've loved his performances in both - let alone the rest of the fantastic cast in this great film noir.

Wonderful, well-written noir that never drags for even a moment, with just enough innuendo to make it fun. All the leads are excellent, though Lizabeth Scott sounds a little too much like Lily Tomlin's Edith Ann a little too much of the time. When Van Heflin says "Well, I always was big for my age... remember?", Stanwyck's slight pause before answering is priceless. "Let it burn, Sam!"

While the title and introduction are about Martha Ivers, it makes the poor decision to switch the POV to the Heflin character after the intro. Therefor wasting time on the less interesting love story with Lizabeth Scott and we aren't as left in the dark about what happened on that fatal night as the Heflin himself is, making Martha less mysterious for us than for him. The whole cast is strong. But Douglas is miscast, he would been better in the Heflin part, but hey it was his first role.

Star Rating: ★★★

87.50

There are times when the movie drifts, but the scenes where Barbara Stanwyck and Kirk Douglas interact are riveting. Lizabeth Scott also grabbed my attention but part didn't give her much to work with.

It gets off to a shoddy start, with some horrible child actors and one of the most laughable murder scenes I've ever witnessed. Things pick up soon enough, though. It's an interesting concept, very well written and well played by Stanwyck, Heflin, and Douglas.

A mostly-strong noir that does go a little overboard with the melodrama (and the sometimes scene-stealing score). All of the performances are impressive, although I couldn't help but wonder if Douglas and Heflin should have had their roles reversed.

A terrific exploration of manipulation, desperation, power and obsession. A little slow moving, but definitely worth it for the high points, especially the climax. Stanwyck and Douglas are both absolutely superb. And Lizabeth Scott has a wonderful, shabby quality to her. But there are a few drawbacks. Van Heflin in the lead is actually the weakest link in the cast. I also felt the direction could use some more pizzazz. The score is far too prominent and needs some dialing back.

Em honra de Lizabeth Scott.

This is another great film noir. I had no idea how this one was going to end. The 4 lead roles were all played perfectly.

Strong dialogue and acting performances.

Great melodramatic, psychological noir with strong performances from all 4 leads.

This wonderfully melodramatic noir putters along at a low simmer until it hits full boil during Douglas's magnificent climactic monologue. Everyone here is in top form, but it's Douglas who really steals the show in an uncharacteristic alcoholic weakling role.

The only (And I mean only) reason to see this film is the performance from Barbara Stanwyck which is outrageously good and better than this film deserves.

Enter Kirk Douglas! His first film and he gets a prominent role right from the start. There was a lot to love about The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). Multi-dimensional characters, a dark story and various mind games. Most of it felt inspired. But it also felt the story was a little too intricate for them to handle optimally. For me there was a dead spot toward the climax which took down the experience a notch, but otherwise this was a thrilling movie!

Stanwyck gives a bravura performance as the wealthy neurotic; equally fine is Douglas as her bitter, weak husband.

Impressive Stanwyck performance.