The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Starring Barbara Stanwyck (Martha Ivers), Van Heflin (Sam Masterson),
Lizabeth Scott (Toni Marachek), and Kirk Douglas (Walter O'Neil). Screenplay
by Robert Rossen, after the short story "Love Lies Bleeding" by John Patrick;
directed by Lewis Milestone. Produced by Hal Wallis, distributed by Paramount
Pictures, 1946.
Poster for The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Image source:
imdb.com
Film noir is often portrayed as an urban genre: the noir classics The Maltese Falcon and The Lady from Shanghai are set in San Francisco;
The Big Sleep
and
Double Indemnity are set in Los Angeles;
Call Northside 777
and Undertow are set in Chicago; and Phantom Lady and Laura are set in New York, to mention just a few examples of many. There was even a
post-WWII trend of noir films that announced their urban locations in the
title, such as The Naked City, Cry of the City,
Dark City, and Night and the City.
But in the world of noir, evil is not confined to cities—it saturates the whole of American society. In movies such as
Shadow of a Doubt, The Postman Always Rings Twice,
Out of the Past, and The Big Heat, suburbs and small towns are
not havens of tranquility and safety, but sites of corruption, murder,
blackmail, and betrayal.
Which brings us to The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. In 1928 in
Iverstown, a Pennsylvania steel town, a teenaged Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson)
is being raised as the ward of her strict aunt (Judith Anderson, the
domineering housekeeper Mrs. Danvers in Hitchcock's
Rebecca). The aunt owns the town's mill, which she runs with an iron fist with the
aid of her fawning factotum O'Neil (Roman Bohnen). Martha hates her aunt and
tries to run away with bad boy Sam Masterson (Darryl Hickman), but she is
caught and brought back (for what we learn is the fourth time).
Janis Wilson (young Martha), Judith Anderson (Mrs. Ivers) and Roman Bohnen
(Mr. O'Neil) in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Image source:
listal.com
When later that same night Martha tries running away with Sam again, her aunt
hears a noise and comes to investigate. Their encounter ends with Martha wresting her aunt's walking stick from her hand and striking her
in the head, causing a fatal fall down the stairs.
When O'Neil bursts in, Martha blames the assault on a nonexistent
intruder. O'Neil's son Walter (Mickey Kuhn) has witnessed it all, but under
the questioning of his father corroborates Martha's story. O'Neil immediately
suspects the truth, and under the guise of solicitous concern for Martha's
welfare seizes the opportunity for blackmail: "You poor child; you'll be all
alone in the world now. . .But you needn't be afraid. We'll always
be with you, Walter and I. We'll never leave you." Indeed. An alcoholic
ex-millworker who'd been fired by Mrs. Ivers is picked up, and—thanks to the testimony of Martha, supported by
Walter—is swiftly convicted
of the murder and hanged.
Flash forward 18 years to 1946. On her aunt's death Martha inherited the mill,
which over time she has hugely expanded, from 3,000 workers to 30,000. "I did it all by
myself," the adult Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) says. (We don't doubt that Martha
is a supremely competent corporate executive—she's Barbara Stanwyck, after all—but wartime demand for steel may
have played a part.) Her money was used by Walter's father to send his son to Harvard;
although Martha despises Walter, their shared guilt binds them together, and
they are now married. The adult Walter (Kirk Douglas, in his first film role)
tries to quiet his conscience and soothe the miseries of his unreciprocated
love for Martha with drink.
Kirk Douglas (Walter) and Barbara Stanwyck (Martha) in a publicity still from
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Image source:
Crooked Marquee
Sam left Iverstown the night of the murder and has grown up as a drifter and a
gambler, but he's his own man and lives by his own moral code. Discharged from
the army and driving west, the adult Sam (Van Heflin) has an accident on
the road outside of Iverstown (paging Dr. Freud!) and is stuck in town until
the car is repaired.
When he stops by his childhood home, now a women's rooming house, he meets
Toni Marachek (Lizabeth Scott), who has "been away for awhile"—in jail for
theft. She's out on parole and is supposed to catch a bus back to her
hometown, but sees a chance for a fresh start out west with Sam.
Lizabeth Scott (Toni Marachek) in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.
Image source:
Wikipedia.com
She's not the only woman in Iverstown imagining a future with Sam; when he
inevitably encounters Martha, her teenaged feelings for him are reawakened.
The stage is set for a love quadrangle, with both women vying for Sam, and
Walter justly perceiving Sam as a rival for Martha. He also recognizes Sam as a threat to
reveal the truth about that fatal night almost two decades ago, a threat that must be dealt with. Revelations about the past, betrayal,
and death will soon follow.
At times The Strange Love of Martha Ivers feels almost as claustrophic
as Luis Bunuel's The Exterminating Angel. All the characters are
trapped. Most obviously, Martha and Walter are inextricably tied to one
another by their mutual guilt. But neither Sam nor Toni can escape Iverstown: the bus somehow always leaves without
Toni, while Martha makes sure that the repairs on Sam's car make no progress.
There's also no escape for Sam and Toni from the power of Martha and Walter. When Martha surprises Toni and Sam together in their connecting hotel rooms,
Sam snaps, "Even a crummy hotel like this has a switchboard." "I have special
privileges this hotel, Sam," Martha replies. "I own it." But Martha, rich and
alluring as she is, represents the past for Sam; Toni is the future.
Van Heflin (Sam Masterson), Lizabeth Scott (Toni Marachek), and Barbara
Stanwyck (Martha Ivers) in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Image
source:
Feminéma
Even when Walter orders some goons to beat up Sam and dump him 25 miles out of
town, Sam must return to settle the score. Only when the past has been confronted
and everything is out in the open can any fresh starts be made. But Martha and
Walter are trapped together in a web of lies from which there is no escape.
Director Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front,
Ocean's 11) heightens the sense of confinement through the tight
framing of the characters in medium shots and close-ups or isolating them
against dark backgrounds, while cinematographer Victor Milner (who worked
extensively with both Ernst Lubitsch and Preston Sturges) effectively employs
silhouettes and shadows to create sense of mystery. (It always seems to be
night in Iverstown, and raining more often than not.) The one misstep is the
sometimes overwrought score by composer Miklós Rózsa (Double Indemnity,
Spellbound), which can seem mis-matched to the gritty
mise-en-scène.
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is full of surprises. For me the first
was Van Heflin's standout performance as the morally ambiguous but sympathetic
Sam. Until I saw this movie Van Heflin's name in the credits was not an
inducement to watch, but I'll have to explore more of his filmography.
Barbara Stanwyck (Martha Ivers) and Van Heflin (Sam) in a publicity still from
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Image source:
The Cinematheque
This is even more true of Lizabeth Scott. During filming she was just 23, and
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers was only her third film. But she
completely inhabits the character of Toni, a woman who has been crushed by
circumstances. Although she looks and sounds like Lauren Bacall, Toni doesn't
share her strength: any bravado she might once have possessed has been beaten
out of her by life. Lizabeth Scott made a specialty of roles in noir films,
and beyond this movie so far I've only seen Dark City. I definitely
want to see more.
John Kellogg (Joe), Lizabeth Scott (Toni), and Van Heflin (Sam) in
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Image source:
Heart of Noir
Kirk Douglas is totally convincing as the conscience-ridden, alcoholic Walter.
Just a year later he played the suave mobster Whit Sterling in
Out of the Past, and soon thereafter became a top-billed star. But in
his first role he shows that he is not only a movie star, but an actor of surprising range.
And what is there to say about Barbara Stanwyck that hasn't already been said?
Martha Ivers is amoral, selfish, willful, ruthless and brutal, but also
indomitable, independent, and smart: she knows what she wants and goes after
it. She recognizes that Sam represents her last chance of happiness, but
ultimately that it's impossible for them to be together—a realization that has
tragic consequences, and not only for her.
Kirk Douglas (Walter), Van Heflin (Sam), and Barbara Stanwyck (Martha) in
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Image source:
Daily Motion
Many thanks to the dear friends who invited us to see
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers on the big screen (at Berkeley's
Pacific Film Archive), as it and all films should be seen.
