Uniting a superlative film noir cast, 1946’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, directed by Lewis Milestone (a two time Academy Award winner, one of which he earned for All Quiet on the Western Front), begins with a triumvirate of childhood friends witnessing a crime which forges a unique bond between them, it informing their respective directions into adulthood.
Building off of her performance in Double Indemnity two years earlier, Barbara Stanwyck, playing the title character, once again proves why she is one of the all-time great femme fatales. . . a calm, controlled, ruthless Machiavellian puppet master, she not only pulls the strings of her weak and feeble alcoholic husband Walter O’Neil (Kirk Douglas in his first film role – and against type from what we would later know) – who truly loves her, but she also has a manipulative control over the entire city in which she lives – owner of the plant that gives its people their jobs, the police that protect it (thanks to her husband, who is the district attorney), and everything else in between.
Following the childhood incident, third friend Sam Masterson (Van Heflin), a thriving vagabond, flees on the departing circus train, becoming a charismatic gambling drifter, living life in the moment, floating wherever the wind takes him. His signature trademark: rolling a coin between his knuckles.
Eighteen years later, it pushes him right back into the community he grew up in (sitting next to him in his car, a small cameo from filmmaker Blake Edwards – Breakfast at Tiffany’s; The Pink Panther; The Party). . . caught off-guard by the city welcome sign, he takes his eyes off the road for a second and crashes – forcing him to spend some time in his old haunt.
It is here that he meets Antonia ‘Toni’ Marachek (Lizabeth Scott – one of her eleven film noirs), a leggy blonde with a husky voice, who, despite wanting to be good, seems to be dragged into every other shady situation (she has just been released from jail). With Masterson being torn between the two women, his first love and the new fling, the more time he spends in town, the more complicated things get. . . especially with the power couple fearing that Masterson may have returned to reveal the long hidden truth of that fateful night so very long ago. What will become of the three old friends and newbie Toni?
Featuring some rivetting performances, the movie was not without its hiccups. Stanwyck, not wanting to be upstaged, was not shy in warning the cast, hence, Heflin only uses his coin trick once in scenes with her – and not during any of her major pieces of dialogue. She also had a huge amount of control over how she was lit. Another issue arose when producer Hal B. Wallis demanded that Milestone do re-shoots so that there were more closeups of Scott. Refusing, the producer did so himself, which led to Milestone vehemently exclaiming that he would never work with him again. Despite all of this, it does not show. Receiving solid reviews from the very beginning, The Los Angeles Daily News stated that Douglas’s role “should establish [him] in Hollywood permanently” – a bold and very accurate prediction, as the man is still going strong and wholly respected for his craft – he will soon be turning 101. Intriguingly, as the story goes, producer Wallis was in New York scouting talent when he bumped into Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and it was she who recommended that he go see a play with one of her old drama school friends – Issur Demsky (soon to become Kirk Douglas), which led to him being cast in the feature.
A richly driven plot filled with fascinating noir topics and themes (greed, romantic rivalry, alcoholism, marriage by forced circumstance, blackmail, disillusionment, murder, seduction, frame-ups, death, and so much more), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers still packs quite the punch; especially when also considering its Oscar nominated Original Story, striking costumes by famed designer Edith Head, captivating performances, and enticing visuals. So, check out this classic film noir, it gives new meaning to a match made in heaven.