Arnelo Affair (1947)

[Ollie]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039160/

Frances Gifford plays the neglected, affair-minded wife who is hooked, lined and sink-ered (OK OK, put yer thesaurus away!) by low-rent club-owner gangster John Hodiak who shamelessly flatters her, always to her immediate disgust.

But when she's left alone, those flattering words roll 'round and 'round in her head, and neglectful hubby George Murphy never devotes enough brain-power to see what his part in this drama is - until it's late.

Hodiak's character is amazingly cunning and thoughtful. Heck, if he was THIS smart and insightful, why wasn't he King Of The World?

He has a soliloquoy about his attraction to her, how she'd be a woman his mother would finally approve of if he brought her home, how for once in his life he could be with a woman who was righteous.

A righteous adulteress? Hmmm... well, he thinks that quietly, and thinks he knows a way out. He'll frame her and tie her to him, and even proposes this solution to her husband. By this time, his 99% lies are clear to us. But is he a 100% liar? Or is that one soliloquoy the truth? Is that the only true thing he says?

When the Good Detective finally rounds him up and delivers his own film-ending speech, we learn the answer about Hodiak and his truthfulness.

I have to admit - this film felt SO plodding and SO predictable... it was "yada yada" this and "yada yada" that for most of it. But instead of walking us out on this long, common, predictable boardwalk, suddenly we notice it's a plank and every move looks like we could spill off into very dangerous and unpredictable directions.

George Murphy - Mr. Nothing - shows up as something much more. Then less. Then more again. The Dumb Detective turns out to be more like the Mexican cop in THE BIG STEAL - playing the dumb role and being a good fisherman, letting the target run with the line until it's too tired to escape.

Hodiak delivers a strong performance. And Frances plays this foolish character that alternates between thinking "one more lie will get me out" and "why didn't I tell the truth yesterday?"

That's the key point - if she'd EVER told the truth to anyone, this film would have ended early. But she's left alone with Hodiak's compliments as the only thing she's heard for days, weeks and months. With no other stimulus, it's like Stockholm Syndrome in absentia.

I shouldn't forget Eve Arden, who's mostly an obnoxious pest until one vital point late in the film, and Frances doesn't believe the telling her the truth would be beneficial. I suspect it could have been VERY interesting, indeed, if Eve Arden had been brought in deeper into this whole plot. If someone made a remake of this tale, having Eve Arden 'take over' and expose some of her nefarious friends might make this an even more interesting story. "Would you prefer to be killed by lions or tigers? Shark or whales?"