Ann Blyth-Russell Metty in A Woman's Vengeance

''A Woman's Vengeance'' is a 1948 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by

Zoltán Korda Zoltan Korda (June 3, 1895 – October 13, 1961) was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918, and worked with his brother Alexander Korda on film-making there and in London. ...

and starring

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

Ann Blyth Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film ''Mildred Pierce'', Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of ...

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Glob ...

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...

Rachel Kempson Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003), known primarily by her birth name Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir Michael Redgrave, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty. Career Kempson trained at RADA ...

, and

Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick (June 19, 1905 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. Early life Natwick was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Mildre ...

. The screenplay by

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...

was based on his 1922 short story "

The Gioconda Smile ''Mortal Coils'' is a collection of five short fictional pieces written by Aldous Huxley in 1921. The title uses a phrase from ''Hamlet'', Act 3, Scene 1: : ... To die, to sleep, :To sleep, perchance to dream; aye, there's the rub, :For in that ...

". The film was released by

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Plot

Henry Maurier rebounds from the death of wife Emily by marrying a much younger woman, Doris, upsetting another woman, Janet, who is in love with him. Suspicions grow that Henry might have hurried along his wife's death with poison, until eventually he finds himself condemned to death for a murder he didn't commit.

Cast

as Henry Maurier *

as Doris Mead *

as Janet Spence *

as Dr. James Libbard *

as Nurse Caroline Braddock *

Cecil Humphreys Cecil Humphreys (1883–1947) was a British film and theatre actor who played in 46 films between 1916 and 1948, mostly in supporting roles as doctors, aristocrats, and generals. Among his best-known roles were Judge Linton, in the 1939 version ...

as General Spence * Hugh French as Robert Lester *

as Emily Maurier * Valerie Cardew as Clara *

Carl Harbord Carl Harbord (26 January 1908 – 18 October 1958) was an English stage, film and television actor. Stage When he was 19, Harbord appeared in the play ''The Happy Husband'', which was presented at the Criterion Theatre in London, England. ...

as Leslie Blake *

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

as Prosecuting Counsel * Leyland Hodgson as First Warder * Ola Lorraine as Malsey * Harry Cording as Chauffeur McNabb

Radio adaptation

''A Woman's Vengeance'' was presented on ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' March 22, 1948. Boyer and Blyth reprised their original roles in the adaptation.

References

External links

* * * * 1948 films Universal Pictures films 1940s mystery drama films American mystery drama films American black-and-white films Films based on works by Aldous Huxley Films with screenplays by Aldous Huxley Films scored by Miklós Rózsa Films directed by Zoltán Korda Films set in England Films set in the 1930s 1948 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-drama-film-stub