Very strong premise from Aldos Huxley. Strong cast. Great chance for Jessica Tandy. Charles Boyer ideally cast as a cad, ditto Ann Blyth as a dim young thing. The first half was gripping - Tandy loves Boyer, who is married to a whinger; the whinger dies and Tandy thinks she's in with a chance but Boyer marries Blyth. You sit back and expect payback but... it never comes.
There's too much Cedric Hardwicke, a doctor who tells Blyth to love Boyer unconditionally. Not enough Tandy going nuts. Too much genuine sap between Blyth and Boyer - she should be a shallow tramp, he should be a complete cad who deserves to die. The film doesn't have the courage of its inherently pulpy heart. Civilised direction from Zoltan Korda. Too civilised, maybe.
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