The Woman in Question (1950) User Reviews

Who was Astra?

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 7 January 2012]

When a fortune teller named Astra (Jean Kent) is found murdered, the police investigate and hear several versions of the kind of woman she was in "The Woman in Question," a 1950 British film directed by Anthony Asquith. Besides Kent, the film features the excellent Hermoine Baddeley and Dirk Bogarde, still in the early part of his career.

The police are given five women and therefore, five different stories. To her neighbor Mrs. Finch (Baddeley), Astra was pure class, gracious and sophisticated with questionable taste in men. To Pollard, the owner of the pet store who was crazy about her, she was pretty, quiet, and sweet (though the audience can see how manipulative she is); to Baker (Bogarde) who wants to do a nightclub act with her, she is a tart; to her sister, she's a slovenly drunk.Finally, from a violent sailor, Mike Murray, she's a faithless woman who cheats on him while he's away. We do learn that Astra's husband is in a hospital, badly injured in the war and not expected to live, yet she doesn't visit him. She also lets Pollard do things for her for free and must realize he has a crush on her.

All in all, an interesting and sometimes funny film. Kent is excellent in all of Astra's manifestations, and, since I am a Dirk Bogarde fan, I loved seeing him and hearing him with an American accent (which he actually did pretty well with). Baddeley, always excellent, is a riot.

"Five Angles on Murder" or "The Woman in Question" is not the most exciting film you'll ever see, and like a lot of British films, it's a bit slow in the beginning, but it's enjoyable.

A greatly underrated classic

[swordfish-1 · 7/10 · 9 October 2002]

A Woman in Question (recently IMDb lists it as Five Angels on Murder) is a Rashomon like story told in flashback. The story develops after a women is found dead and police detectives question witnesses, each of whom provides a different account of events leading to the murder. Until the very end, the ulterior motives of each of the characters remain unclear.

It is a greatly underrated movie that is not easily accessible. Anthony Asquith handles the material really well and masterfully builds the suspense. In addition, solid performances are provided by the cast.

If you get an opportunity to watch this movie, do not miss it. Hopefully the movie will become more accessible in the years to come.

Sort of like a British "Rashomon".

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 31 August 2016]

Both "Five Angles on Murder" and the Kurosawa film "Rashomon" came out the same year, so it's very possible that neither film influenced the other-- though they sure have a similar style. Both films consist of a mystery and you see the story through different folks' eyes...and they have extremely different views on exactly what ACTUALLY happened. Both are worth seeing, though by many "Rashomon" is considered a classic.

When the film begins, a child finds a woman dead in her flat. Apparently she was murdered and the police interrogate several people to try to determine what happened. First is the landlady and her interview seems to dubious value as she seems to let her emotions color what she thinks of everyone. She LOVED the deceased and HATED her friend, Mr. Baker (Dirk Bogarde). When the police talk to the deceased's sister, she sees Baker very differently...as she was in love with him. She also thought her sister was a shrill and vicious woman. And so the movie goes...with the police interviewing different folks and all having a very different view of the dead woman as well as their opinions about who was responsible for her fate.

Of all the folks in the film, Jean Kent really stands out as the victim. This is because she had to play such a different character depending on the viewpoint of the interviewee...ranging from almost sickly sweet and refined to coarse and god-awful! It takes talent to have such range! While I would never say the film is as good as the Kurosawa film, it IS very good and very well made...far better than most British pictures of the era.

Five manifestations in one woman

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 20 August 2017]

'The Woman in Question's' potential was enormous. Love murder mysteries, Anthony Asquith often was a very reliable director and Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde and Hermione Baddeley have all been great in other films.

After seeing it, 'The Woman in Question' is solid and has some inventive elements. It mostly lives up to its potential but doesn't entirely, there are a few short-comings that bring it down from a potentially great film to just a good one worthy still of more credit. 'The Woman in Question' doesn't get into high gear straight away, it's a little too slow to begin with. Was also one of those people who found the ending abrupt, though the solution was clever and unexpected still.

Most of the performances are fine, but for my tastes Duncan Macrae is a little pallid and John McCallum much too hammy.

However, 'The Woman in Question' is atmospherically produced and shot. Asquith directs with a lot of engagement and command of the material, helped by that it's good stuff to work from, and the film is hauntingly scored without intruding too much.

Script is thought-provoking and does a wonderful job with the development and writing of the titular character, a complex and juicy one. The story is not perfect but is mostly tense and suspenseful with some inventive elements, especially in its treatment of the titular character and what we find out about her.

With the exception of two, the performances are very good. The best of the lot is Jean Kent, who is also the best thing about the film and is simply incredible with some of the widest range of emotions ever seen on film. Dirk Bogarde is charismatic in an early role and his accent, which was a good attempt to stretch his acting chops, wasn't an issue to me.

In support, Hermione Baddeley in particular has a ball and Charles Victor has some fine moments, especially in the final third.

Overall, good and solid film that could have been more. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Clever British mystery

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 18 August 2023]

This British mystery is clever in showing us the varying perspectives of five people connected to a woman who has been murdered, one flashback after another, as the police question them. It's amusing to see how each remembers their own behavior as better than others do, sometimes in subtle ways, and other times with larger distortions, and wonder how much of it they believe vs. Knowingly spin in their accounts. This is how it is in life; each of us are the stars of our own little shows, and our views of people or events can be wildly different, despite underlying commonality.

While many are quick to point out the parallel to Rashomon, released just a couple of months earlier, it's important to note that Kurosawa's film had its characters telling almost completely different narratives, whereas in The Woman in Question it's more of a matter of different perspectives. In Rashomon, there is no ultimate, objective truth, and it remains elusive. In this film, there is clear truth, and we are unsurprised when the detective gets things sorted.

The concept to this film was intriguing, and allowed the actors to show off their range, Jean Kent especially (the woman who gets murdered), but also Hermione Baddeley (the neighbor) and Dirk Bogarde (the sister's boyfriend), among others. The film is not quite as strong as the mystery is unraveled, though Duncan Macrae brings that classic British approach I'm fond of. Unfortunately, the final clue and killer's instant confession upon being confronted felt rather hokey, and the ending just a little too quick and tidy to feel completely satisfying. Not bad though.

Gypsy Creamed

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 26 May 2012]

Despite a tendency to be overshadowed by the likes of Carol Reed, David Lean, etc, Puffin Asquith was arguably the finest all-round Director to emerge from England turning out consistent high quality product unlike Reed, for example, whose early work was risible. By the mid forties Asquith was on a roll and between 1945 and 1952 he turned out six exceptional movies, The Way To The Stars, While The Sun Shines, The Winslow Boy, The Woman In Question, The Browning Version and The Importance Of Being Earnest. The first was an Original Screenplay by Terence Rattigan, the next two were adaptations of plays by Rattigan, the fourth was an Original by John Cresswell, the fifth was another adaptation of a Rattigan play and the sixth was by Oscar Wilde. Jean Kent featured prominently in two of the six, this one, and its successor, The Browning Version, a masterpiece and one of the finest films ever produced in England. Beside Rattigan and Wilde the name John Cresswell gets lost in the shuffle and perhaps rightly so; this was his first screen credit and though he achieved a dozen or so more this was arguably his finest hour and even that was a rip-off of Rashomon. It was arguably Jean Kent's finest performance and she revelled in the chance to play Astra the Gypsy Fortune Teller who failed to foresee her own demise and who was five women in one, depending on whether it's Hermione Dabbely, Dirk Bogarde, Susan Shaw, Charles Victor or John McCallum who's describing her. Baddely and Victor provide strongest support with Bogarde so inept that one wonders how he was able to sustain a career - his American accent is so ludicrous that eventually (presumably as a bow to his limitations) he is forced to admit that he hails from Liverpool which is even more ludicrous as he sound pure Home Counties. McCallum and Shaw appear to have struck a private wager on who can deliver the hammiest performance and honours are about even. Despite all this it remains a highly watchable effort.

Solid whodunit

[gridoon2024 · 7/10 · 3 December 2015]

"The Woman In Question" has all the ingredients in place to be a good ol' whodunit, but it is more than that: it is a filmic essay on the subjective nature of truth, on how we frequently see people not for who they are, but for who we want them - or pigeonhole them - to be. John Cresswell's script is ahead of its time; Anthony Asquith's direction is workmanlike, sometimes routine, but other times creative. Jean Kent has what must be a dream assignment for any actor who wants to prove their worth - that of playing several characters who are really all one character - and she pulls it off successfully. But the rest of the cast is up to her level as well. This is a film worth seeing - possibly more than once. *** out of 4.

An English Rashomon, or a drag routine

[Dierdre99 · 7/10 · 4 November 2001]

Made the same year - 1950 - as Rashomon which is acclaimed for retelling the same story several ways, The Woman in Question does the very same, allowing Jean Kent to portray five rather different versions of Astra, the fortune teller. The women in the film are much better drawn than the men, despite both the director and writer being themselves men, and despite the narrative framework of the all-male police team. Some would attribute this to Asquith's gay perspective. The combined portrait of Astra is not very flattering, especially her refusal to visit her dying husband, and in her using Pollard, the pet-shop keeper, to work for her for free, but then refusing his polite advances, she is walking a dangerous line. The underlying sadness of her person comes through, but she is not as sad as Pollard.

The outstanding secondary character is Mrs Finch, the nosey neighbour from next door who never stops talking. Hermione Baddeley, in the part, practically steals the first part of the film to the extent that the rest almost seems like an anticlimax. Her characterization, her way of speech, the hairnet and the pinafore, owe a lot to the English tradition of comical working-class characters that goes back to renaissance theatre, was developed in the Music Hall, and is a precursor of the Monty-Python housewives chatting over the back fence. That is, it is very easy to see her as done by Dan Leno or Al Reid. A change of emphasis and we have a drag routine.

Five versions of one person

[Dave_BobW · 10/10 · 18 May 2003]

'The Woman in Question' shows the same person, the fairground fortune-teller Astra (real name: Agnes) as five different people saw her. Astra has been found strangled and the police chief tries to put together what has happened to her.

Jean Kent is excellent - for me, she was at her best in sleazy, tarty roles and the episode seen from her sister's (Susan Shaw) point of view is no exception. I love the moment when we first see this version of Astra, sprawled in bed in a messy room, drunk. The music is wonderful here.

Charles Victor plays Mr Pollard, the pet shop owner, with a fine degree of understatement. Hermione Baddeley is equally good as the nosy neighbour Mrs Finch.

Jean Kent (in 'Sixty Voices' by Brian McFarlane) felt the episode closest to the character in her view was the happy-go-lucky girl as seen by the Irish sailor played by John McCallum. Her least favourite was the Susan Shaw episode. Apparently Bette Davis had originally been in mind for the part.

A very cleverly made film and a classic British film.

Oscar Bait

[boblipton · 6/10 · 10 October 2018]

Jean Kent has been murdered in her bedroom. Duncan Macrae and Joe Linnane conduct the investigation by speaking with the people around her.

The gimmick in this movie is that as each of the witness/suspects describes the events, we see it from the speaker's viewpoint... and the character, appearance and behavior of every individual changes according to whose version we are hearing. It's a subjective camera: not a new thing in the movies, but still a novelty. Three years earlier, Hitchcock had misused it in THE PARADINE CASE and the year this came out, Kurosawa directed RASHOMON which seems to assert there is no objective reality.

That's not what's happening here. The point is to take the subjective realities and winkle out the objective reality behind them. In the course of so doing, we get to see the actors perform their roles in a variety of manners, particularly Miss Kent, who ranges from slattern to aristocrat. In the US, this would have been a vehicle for the actress in the lead role looking for an Oscar. Look! I can do this line as a loose woman! Look, I can do it as as an impoverished noblewoman! And so forth.

One of my top 20 films

[lfisher0264 · 9/10 · 6 May 2007]

This film repays several viewings. It's not just Astra who changes according to who's telling her story. People's memories of themselves are also flattering. Astra's sister Katie as remembered by Mrs Finch is a nasal-voiced slut. As remembered by herself she is as gracious as a member of the royal family. When we see her with the police (and this we assume is "reality"), she is much nicer than Mrs Finch's view of her, but more lower-class than her own self- image. In the minds of Mrs Finch and Mr Pollard, Astra is always seen in a shaft of light, her voice is like an angel's - and her dressing gown is clean. Katie has the unkindest view of Astra - seeing her as a round-shouldered slattern with a growing out perm, a filthy dressing gown, someone who sleeps in her makeup and (ripped) stockings. Though it's pretty clear that Astra supplements her fortune telling with prostitution, Katie - who is pleasant enough to have Bob fall in love with her - seems to be exaggerating Astra's vulgarity. But at the very end, when the Inspector tells Pollard "This is what really happened" we see... Astra herself, not seen through the distorting lens of another character. And she is the hunched, harsh-voiced woman in the dirty dressing gown.

Apart from the unusual psychological detective story (who killed her? who was she?) this film is great for the background of the little seaside town, the shabby fairground, the little houses unchanged for 50 years.

Fortune Teller Myopia

[st-shot · 7/10 · 29 June 2021]

Fortune teller, seductress Madame Astra gets herself strangled and given her ability to rankle all those around her there are suspects aplenty. Lover, sister or a string of men she's playing along Astra was many things to many people one of which murdered her.

Women in Question is a compact little murder mystery fleshed out through a variety of alibis presented by suspects with a reason to off the duplicitous Astra. There are a half a dozen possibilities with plausible situations in every instance but the guilty becomes obvious early as director Anthony Asquith heavy handedly attempts to press guilt upon the inoocent.

Every character is spot on with Hermoine Baddely exasperatingly wonderful as the busy body landlady and Jean Kent as Astra having a field day playing out the interpretations of suspects. An inoffesnsive paint by the numbers murder mystery.

Guessing the Seaside Resort

[jromanbaker · 3/10 · 7 March 2024]

Looking at this film closely I guessed the film was set in the town of Brighton on the South Coast of England. The seediness of the housing in the 1950's reminded me of ' Brighton Rock ' made a few years earlier. Different plot, but a similar hardness in the atmosphere caused by Post War austerity. A woman of shall we say doubtful ' morals ' is murdered, and the main thrust of the film is the viewpoints of the various people in her life. Jean Kent plays the part of the woman in question to the limit, but sometimes in her hard acting she borders on melodrama. Dirk Bogarde is an American who is more interested in the woman's sister played excellently by Susan Shaw, an actor who far surpasses the others in acting ability. Bogarde is hopeless as an American, and he could have tried harder or been left as English. No spoilers as to who killed the woman and her most tender scene is when she worries about her pet budgerigar, but even that has a dark edge. I give it a 3 for Susan Shaw and the depiction of a town still suffering from WW2 blues.

Fascinating character study

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 23 March 2022]

This British gem plays a bit like CITIZEN KANE and RASHOMON with its use of a meticulously plotted flashback structure. It accomplishes two things- helping us unravel the mystery of who killed Agnes Huston (Jean Kent); and filling in considerable chunks of her backstory.

Statements made by members of her local community suggest she was both aloof and friendly; glamorous yet seedy; as well as kind and vicious.

She was a woman that affected a lot of lives in her immediate orbit. Some of these folks have been positively impacted, while others had a more adverse relationship with Agnes, who sometimes went by the professional name of Astra. A few of the supporting characters mourn her untimely death, but the rest seem delighted that she'll no longer be around.

Several of the suspects give unflattering accounts of her life to the police. Including the neighbor lady Mrs. Finch (Hermione Baddeley), who for the most part liked Agnes and often sipped afternoon tea with her. But Mrs. Finch witnessed a lot of strange comings and goings at Agnes' flat, and she mentions these occurrences to the inspectors.

Meanwhile, the actual culprit has nothing but nice things to say about Agnes/Astra, which I find rather interesting. It is clear the killer loved her but just snapped in a moment of rage. Basically, he committed a crime of passion.

I like how Asquith and his writers connect all the main characters in the flashbacks. The woman's acquaintances are not just repeating the same story from their respective vantage points. Yes, there is a bit of that since the police do ask some of the same questions to establish a basic timeline of events and verify alibis. But each person is also allowed to add new information, and their individual recollections facilitate the introduction of other outside characters that only they know.

As a result, we see how Agnes had a direct effect on those close to her, as well as an indirect effect on a second group of locals that she may not have had much contact with or really even knew.

Also, some recounted events precede the generally accepted course of events, which lengthens the timeline constructed by the cops. Thereby adding previously unknown backstory and details.

Sometimes filmmakers get too clever with these types of narratives. But in this case, it's all logically assembled. While we still probably don't have the full picture of who Agnes Huston was and the life she led, we do have a sense of tragedy...a life that ended too soon. In that regard, it's a fascinating character study that leaves us wanting more.

It all boils down to why not who or when

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 3 November 2009]

***SPOILERS*** Clever Rashomon-like British film involving fortune-teller Madam Aster who was found strangled in her flat in an obvious crime of passion by someone she may not have been that passionate with.

With policemen Supt. Lodge and his partner Inspt. Butler called on the scene they check out all the clues to Madam Aster's murder and come up with five suspects. As the movie goes on we get statements, and flashbacks, from the five suspects in Madam Aster's murder that all contradict each other. It becomes very apparent to both Lodge & Butler that Madam Aster had deeply offended everyone of the five persons suspected of murdering her. The trick is who of those that she offended was driven to the point of killing her! There's Madam Aster's landlady, and suspect #1, Mrs Finch who didn't like the company that she kept in her apartment that included, suspect# 2, double-talking BS artist and carnival mind reader Bob Baker. It was Baker who left Madam Aster for her far more attractive sister, and suspect #3, Catherine Taylor after she threw him out of her apartment! We, as well as Supt. Lodge & Inspt. Butler, can't leave out the kindly neighborhood "Mr. Fix It All", and suspect #4, Albert Pollard. The meek and always available Pollard was always trying to get the much younger Madam Aster to fall for him and, with both Pollard and Madam Aster still married, become his sex slave or live-in lover. All that the frustrated Pollard ever got from her, for his noble and unselfish services, was nothing more then a handshake smile and thank you!

And finally we come to the insanely jealous rummy and bar-room brawler, as well as suspect #5, Sailor Mike Murray who wherever he went violence always followed. Sailor Mike went nuts when he showed up unexpectedly at Madam Aster's apartment, after being out at sea for three months, and finding her with an other man! Throwing Madam Aster's boyfriend, or possible John, down a fight of stairs a fired up Sailor Mike then checked out and got himself juiced up in a local ginmill. With Sailor Mike coming on the scene after Madam Aster's body was discovered by the police was that his way to show that he was innocent of murdering her or him just playing ignorant in order to throw the police off his tail!

***SPOILERS*** It's Supt Lodge who finally cracks the case not by having the evidence lead him to Madam Aster's murderer but the murderer him or herself unknowingly doing the job for him!

Had Me Guessing Right Up To The End

[andyrobert · 10/10 · 12 December 2019]

I personally enjoyed this film. It was something that I had been trying to catch up with on Talking Pictures for months - I kept recording it, without getting around to watching it.

The film had an interesting story telling technique - five witnesses giving different versions of the story, all conflicting with each other. I have wondered who thought of the idea first, the makers of the Japanese film: "Rashomon"; or the makers of this film, seeing that both films were released in the same year.

The film seemed to reflect a lot about what it was like living in Post War Britain: rationing, black market, austerity and people struggling to make a living.

The parts about neighbours just walking in and out each other's houses would seem a bit far-fetched to the younger viewers of today, but although some of my childhood memories of the 1950's are a bit patchy, I do remember life being like that.

However, I don't think a newspaper delivery boy would have been allowed to go through the front door and right up into a woman's bedroom just to deliver a paper.

I thought the way Jean Kent, Susan Shaw and some of the other players were able to take on entirely different personalities as each version of the story unfolded was quite commendable - some smart pieces of acting there.

I was guessing about who the murderer was all the way through the film.

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 8/10 · 27 June 2005]

For the first twenty minutes or so, the film feels like a run-of-the-mill investigation film noir, but then it takes a unique spin, providing five different accounts of the events. It is quite interesting to watch from there on in, even though the male characters are rather thin and flat - the investigators in particular. The conclusion is also a bit disappointing and it is all a bit overly melodramatic at times, but the core of the picture - its middle section - is really quite strong, and that is what causes this film to be much better than the average piece of crime investigation film noir out there.

pedestrian detective movie

[perlsock · 5/10 · 16 October 2005]

This film is a slightly below average detective movie which passes the time if you've nothing else to do. As with many similar black and white films of the era "The Woman in Question" offers an insight into post-war Britain, but it doesn't hold a candle to "Brighton Rock" which, like this film, also has a seaside setting.

The story takes a while to get started, but Jean Kent is excellent as the murder victim as described to the police by different witnesses. Hermione Baddeley also does well in a dull and overlong role as neighbour Mrs Finch, whose son discovers the murder. There is a small twist right near the end, but it is hardly much of a surprise and the film ending is abrupt and disappointing. 5/10

Film Noir in Rashomon Style

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 17 September 2008]

Investigating the brutal murder of a fun-fair fortune teller, a detective encounters five different witnesses' accounts of her character.

This ingenious noir thriller provides an opportunity for Jean Kent to give the stand-out performance of her career as the murder victim who is seen though different eyes throughout the narrative. Every critic in the world has pointed out this obvious fact, but very few have zeroed in on Susan Shaw who gives a far more subtle but nonetheless equally telling interpretation of the victim's sister as her part in the drama is also recalled by the various witnesses.

Also handing out an astonishingly well-rounded performance is Dirk Bogarde who cleverly overdoes the bogus American accent in order to tip the audience off to his real persona. He fooled me completely.

All the actors are well-nigh perfect. The only player I have any problem with is Duncan Macrae in the key role of Superintendent Lodge. To my mind, Macrae lacks the charisma for this important part and I would have much preferred to see Duncan Lamont, a fine actor, who does wonders with his small and inconsequential role as a direction finder at the fun fair.

Asquith has handled his players well, although I thought that a little more ingenuity in camera angles would have made the film even more noirishly appealing.

Unusually shot.

[plan99 · 8/10 · 23 August 2023]

Seeing the viewpoint from each character was an interesting way of telling an interesting tale of murder although the ending was not much of a surprise. Jean Kent usually plays posh ladies so it interesting to get a demonstration that she could also play less posh ones.

A snapshot of life in post war Britain and it was another few decades later that the last of the slums were demolished. Although Duncan Mcrae played many Scottish parts with a Scottish accent in this film he uses his genuine posh English accent as I spoke to him about 1960 and he spoke as he did in this film.

Well cast and acted all round and well worth watching for that reason and to see the unusual way of telling the story of the violent deed.

Terrible and yet weirdly entertaining.

[MOscarbradley · 4/10 · 8 October 2023]

"The Woman in Question" may be the least well-known of Anthony Asquith's films and to be honest, I'm not surprised. It's a fairly routine 'Rashomon'-style murder yarn. Jean Kent is the victim and we see her through the eyes of five different people, (the movie's told in a series of flashbacks), each one describing her in very different terms giving Kent a chance to display what little acting chops she had.

It's got a decent enough cast, (a young Dirk Bogarde, Hermione Baddeley, excellent as a gossipy landlady, Stewart Granger lookalike John McCallum, Susan Shaw, Charles Victor, taking the acting honors and the always reliable Duncan Macrae as the investigating copper), but the script's poor and the film's only 'novelty value' lies in which version of the truth is true, if any.

It's a nice idea, badly handled and Bogarde's dreadful, initially putting on a terrible American accent before actually admitting he's from Liverpool which in itself takes some swallowing. Bogarde and Asquith completists may get something out of it but everyone else should give it a wide berth.

'A Classic British-Who Done It'

[carmenjulianna · 8/10 · 17 August 2023]

A great cast and performance by some of Britain's best 50s-60s headliners, including Dirk Bogard and Susan Shaw. Hermione Baddely as usual, gave a great convincing performance..

An intriguing suspense murder mystery, with a dialogue that twists and turns, beginning with the discovery of a womans murder.. The narrative is then told to the police inspector individually, through the recollections of those acquainted closest to the victim (which there are many) I really enjoyed this style of whodunit murder mystery, as it gives the storyline so much more depth into each character, and creativity on different levels..

Jean Kents performance was exillerarating, authentic and believable.! I'm an avid fan of British B movies, especially the crime genre but, this is quite in a class of its own.!

I did however guess the killer (it was obvious) but for those never having seen this movie before, I recommend you take time to watch it. It'll keep you guessing until the end :) I have watched 'A Woman In Question' over the years numerous times and I still enjoy watching it whenever shown, immensely..!

They don't make them like they used to...!!!

There is no question. She was no lady.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 5 May 2022]

An embittered sister. A visiting American. A nosy neighbor. A Scottish sailor. And an aging pet store owner. All questioned in the murder of a woman (Jean Kent) cool before you see her suspect was a great lady. Turns out she's just one step barely above Mildred in "Of Human Bondage", and that's just barely. Kent is a gypsy fortune teller at a local amusement park, found strangled to death by the son of the nosy landlady (Hermione Baddeley) who has judgments against everybody who visits Kent, referring to them as cheeky when she's the cheesiest one of them all. She's hysterical to listen to because she takes battleaxe to a new level, acting all uppity while accusing everybody else of being that way.

At first, it's assumed by her attitude towards the sister is that she's no good, but the audience soon finds out the truth and begins to see Kent for who she really is thanks to conversations with all of these peoples who are secretly suspects on the police list. A well written and intelligently complex mystery with great character development, outside of Kent and Baddely, there are also excellent performances by the young Dirk Bogarde, Susan Shaw as a sister and John McCallum as the pet store owner. The detectives on the case are quite astute in examining each of the details they come across in an intelligent and intriguing manner. Production design and music are fantastic, and the audience, even if they think they know who did it, will never be quite sure until they reveal all at the end.

Movie in question.

[dbdumonteil · 26 July 2003]

At first sight,"woman in question" seems to be a whodunit with a Georges Simenon flavor thrown in.The form seems intriguing,presenting twice some scenes,first from the witnesses' point of view,then from the main characters ' themselves.That's why we have five different portraits of the same woman.She 's so many women that we do not know if she is for example the nice little pet lover who falls for the birdman or the slut whom her sister depicts.

Actually the trick is not new at all:see "citizen kane" ,which remains unsurpassed for that matter.And I could mention at least a dozen of movies which follows the same pattern.The crime and the flashbacks recall Marcel Carné's "le jour se lève" (1939).

The plot is never really exciting and the final revelation downright disappointing,even if there's a good twist:the scene begins with one of the suspects the culprit and ends up with another one.

Although at the top of the credits,Dirk Bogarde is only a supporting actor here.Another disappointment.

British Rashomon rip-off

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 7 August 2016]

THE WOMAN IN QUESTION is a British detective story of the 1950s and a little different to the rest, following an atypical plot structure, featuring some characters who are presented in a much more harsh and realistic light than is usual for the genre, and set in Brighton, although mostly this is a set-bound little thing.

The film turns out to be nothing more than a blatant rip-off of Kurosawa's RASHOMON, with the events leading up to the murder of a young woman told by various different characters who each put their own spin on things. The main detective has to piece things together and work out who the real killer is, more by what's not being said than what is. It's an interesting premise in itself, but the writer is unable to sustain suspense for the entire running time, and in the second half this falls apart quite spectacularly with sub-plots that go nowhere and seem to have been included merely to pad out the narrative.

It's a pity, as THE WOMAN IN QUESTION does have some good stuff amid the tedium. Jean Kent has the chance to play the victim in a number of different characterisations and is completely convincing in all of them. The stories which portray her in a less-than-flattering light are quite shocking and effective. Dirk Bogarde has a supporting role, but it's an obvious one that he can do little with. Hermione Baddeley's larger-than-life figure threatens to dominate proceedings early on but thankfully takes a back seat later in the game. The police procedural linking segments are quite dull and I found the ending a disappointment.