Very well executed

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

You never hated Bette Davis so much before. She could be criminal and nasty but never quite abominable, which somehow she is brought here to become more or less against her will by too many unexpected visitors to her house, beginning with her husband, whom you never see except as dead. It's a damned tricky plot, and Val Guest was expert at such things, making a criminal intrigue as inextricable as possible in order to have the great pleasure of having it all dissolve in the most unexpected possible but percetly logical way. The Gothic atmosphere of this chamber play is gloomily enhanced by the whole thing being filmed in Bette Davis' own home, here situated far away in the desolation of the Yorkshire moors. The music also underscores the tension of the plot, and the colloquial doctor (Emlyn Williams) who knows everything beforehand, which you dont get to know until after the end, doesn't make things easier for anyone. Only the young couple (Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray) get away unharmed, while the most upsetting case and victim of injustice of all is, as the doctor clearly points out, a horse. It's a major display of meanness and super-excellent as such, but in all these towering passions of possessive love you despondently miss and lack the faintest shade of any human varmth and tenderness.

That extended opening scene is like a showcase for real-life marrieds Davis and Merrill. Looks like she may be introducing them as a couple to American audiences. It's an apparently low-budget British production with a small cast and a single rural location site. As the conniving Janet, murderer of her inconvenient husband, Bette gets to evil-eye and puff her way through 90-minutes of theatrics. And with a ton of unflattering close-ups. At the same time, George (Merrill) tries somberly to deal with Janet's schemes, as they cover up her husband's murder in a secluded British estate. Only pesky Dr. Henderson (Williams) gets in their way.I'm not surprised the film is rarely mentioned among Davis's triumphs. The plot shenanigans are convoluted, theatrics abound, and talk is only relieved by spectacular scenes of the Yorkshire moors. Moreover, calling the results noir, amounts to a stretch. I did, however, like the upshot scene, a neat bit of irony. Nonetheless, showcasing the two leads tends to over-shadow both story and character. Good thing directors Rapper and Guest do their best at pacing the difficult material. Anyway, whatever the drawbacks, the film should please fans of Bette; but for others, it's mainly a matter of taste.

Janet Frobisher (Bette Davis) is home when a strange man bursts into her home. George Bates (Gary Merrill) demands to know where Mr. Frobisher is but Janet is evasive. So, George explains that he and her husband were involved in a robbery and the husband killed someone...and he wants to get a hold of him in order to prove he didn't do the killing. But, it's too late, and Janet introduces George to her husband....and he's quite dead! It seems she was sick of the jerk and after slapping her around, she poisoned him! What an interesting pair we meet at the beginning of the picture!As for George, he's not about to just leave and decides to stick around...telling folks he's Mr. Frobisher. Considering that none of the neighbors ever met the man, it's an easy ruse. And, he knows Janet won't betray him because he knows about that pesky dead body sitting in the study!While I really enjoyed Merrill's and Davis' characters (both were deliciously evil) and I do recommend the film, it is not perfect. It was originally a play and it's pretty obvious since the film is very talky and a bit claustrophobic. But the ending...well...that makes up for a lot!

I am getting more and more into Bette Davis' style, which is on fine display in this feature where she plays a mystery writer who gets tangled up in her own sordid tale. Davis kills her own estranged husband and then gets set up by his criminal friend who thinks he can successfully hide under the guise of Bette's unknown husband. This poor character has no idea who or what he is up against when he takes on Bette. For that matter, her poor secretary has no idea either when Bette suddenly decides that she wants her fiance. While I found most of the supporting cast to be quite bland and annoying (the neighbor), the movie does a great job highlighting Bette's talents and is quite enjoyable to watch.