The Unfaithful (1947)

Directed by Vincent Sherman. Starring Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Steven Geray, Jerome Cowan, Peggy Knudsen, John Hoyt.

Reworking of W. Somerset Maugham’s play “The Letter” (previously adapted into a star vehicle for Bette Davis in 1940) transforms the material into a noir-ish murder mystery that gracelessly incorporates now-dated social issues into its fabric: the consequences/pitfalls of marital infidelity and “quickie” divorces. Sheridan murders a man in her home she claims not to know, but her lawyer and friend Ayres doesn’t need an X-ray machine to see through her story. She’s fine in the role, if lacking the conviction and intensity one would expect from a hell-hath-no-fury murderess with suspicious motives; in support, Arden walks away with all her scenes as a tart-tongued socialite divorcee who proudly announces to the boys she’s single and ready to mingle. “Original” screenplay credited to David Goodis and James Gunn.

60/100