The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
About The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
In 1928, in the factory town of Iverstown, young Martha Ivers strikes her aunt with a cane during a storm. The aunt falls down the stairs and dies. Martha and Walter O'Neil lie about it. Walter's father, who knows the truth, keeps quiet so the family can profit. Sam Masterson, the boy Martha meant to run away with, leaves town. In 1946 Sam, a gambler and a decorated soldier, wrecks his car and lands back in Iverstown. Martha now runs the Ivers businesses and is married to Walter, the district attorney. An employee was hanged for the aunt's death. Sam meets Toni Marachek, out on probation, and Walter has him beaten, fearing blackmail. Martha asks Sam to kill the drunken Walter. He will not. After he leaves, Walter and Martha die by the gun in the mansion. Sam and Toni drive out of town.
Cast & crew
More about The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Lewis Milestone directed Robert Rossen's screenplay from John Patrick's story "Love Lies Bleeding." Hal B. Wallis produced it for Paramount. Victor Milner photographed it, Miklós Rózsa wrote the score, and Archie Marshek edited it. It opened in London on June 13, 1946, and in New York on July 25. U.S. rentals were reported at $3,250,000.
Themes
Background
The story starts in 1928, with a power failure and a rich aunt, and resumes in 1946, when the boy who left has come home from the war to a town the liars now own.
Making
Douglas's first role is the weak husband, not the tough one he later played. Wallis cast him on Bogart and Bacall's recommendation, opposite Stanwyck, who holds the factory town and the lie.
Reviews
Herbert Cohn, in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, wrote that Milestone used each detail so the characters seemed real and their actions not too far-fetched. John L. Scott, in the Los Angeles Times, said it was not a pretty tale but held attention to the last scene. The New York Times compared the plot to a jigsaw that Milestone and Rossen gathered in, if with less finesse than one could wish.
Look
Victor Milner shot the picture at Paramount, including the staircase death in the storm and the later night scenes in the Ivers house.
Music
Miklós Rózsa composed the score.
Preservation
The film entered the public domain in the United States in 1974, after the copyright was not renewed.
Notes
- Barbara Stanwyck plays Martha, Van Heflin plays Sam, Lizabeth Scott plays Toni, and Kirk Douglas, in his first film, plays Walter.
- Judith Anderson is Mrs. Ivers. Roman Bohnen is Walter's father. Janis Wilson, Darryl Hickman, and Mickey Kuhn play the children.
- Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall recommended Douglas to Wallis.
- John Patrick was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Motion Picture Story.
- The copyright was not renewed. The film entered the public domain in the United States in 1974.
Scenes
- During the power failure Martha takes the cane from her aunt, strikes her, and watches her fall down the stairs.
- Sam learns from old newspapers that an Ivers employee was hanged for the death he did not see.
- Martha puts a gun in Walter's hand. Sam, outside, hears the shot and finds Walter holding her body before Walter shoots himself.
Influenced by
- John Patrick's story "Love Lies Bleeding
Also available
- Internet Archive (Martha_Ivers)
