A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
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Reviews
CinemaSerf
7
By CinemaSerf
I have always really enjoyed watching this film. It pairs Stewart Granger, at the top of his game, and his real life wife Jean Simmons and their chemistry is wonderfully effective in this aptly named dollop of Victorian melodrama. We start out on a rainy day in a London cemetery with Granger ("Lowry") burying his wife. He returns home, all doom and gloom, shuts his living room door, pours himself a glass of something then a huge smile beams across his face - nope, I don't think he is too upset to be shot of her. Twists and turns ensue as housemaid "Lily" (Simmons) discovers that perhaps her death from gastroenteritis might not have been quite as the coroner was led to believe and she begins to impose herself - at some considerable peril - on her master. Thing is, her attempts at manipulation fall foul of one thing she hadn't quite bargained on - she falls in love and... It's a super watch, this - the costumes and sets are superb, as is the swirling score from Benjamin Frankel, and the direction from Arthur Lubin allows the two to play off one another like a couple of naturals. Occasionally we get to come up for air - in the form of distractions from Bill Travers and Belinda Lee, but essentially this is a cleverly crafted, suspenseful, two-hander that I still really enjoy.
