So Evil My Love (1948) User Reviews

Love amidst evil

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 16 December 2019]

'So Evil My Love' has the sort of story that has always appealed to me and on paper it sounded really interesting, it also looked good and had heard a lot of good things about it which picqued my interest further. Having Ray Milland, Ann Todd and Geraldine Fitzgerald in a film on their own promises a lot. Having them together in the same film had me sold even further. So yeah, there was a lot that 'So Evil My Love' had going for it.

While not quite perfect, 'So Evil My Love' is delightful for anybody that loves the genre and stories with a similar theme. It is an extremely well done film, that works excellently as both a suspense film and psychological study. Those that like either Milland, Todd or Fitzgerald, and even better all three, should not find themselves disappointed with all three being in roles worthy of their talent as well as somewhat stretching them. It would be a very easy yes if asked my opinion on whether the film is worth watching or not.

The not so good things will be mentioned first. They are vastly outweighed by the many great things and they are minor too, well relatively. The central relationship does develop a little too quickly, with Milland's character being too easily fallen for, and part of me felt that his true colours could have been revealed a little latter.

Do think that the film could have gotten going quicker, a little too much set up.

Milland though gives a great performance in a role that suits him very well, he manages to be very charming but also sinister. Todd is perhaps even better, her vulnerability was touching and her steel was worthy of a lot of admiration. Fitzgerald brings out her character's neuroses very effectively without overplaying and is actually quite sympathetic. Raymond Huntley is almost as chilling as Milland.

Furthermore, 'So Evil My Love' is gorgeously filmed, which matched the story's grit very well and never felt artificial, complete with a handsome and evocative period production design. The direction is seldom less than assured and gets better as the film progresses, while the music is haunting and seldom excessively scored. The script is intelligent and tightly structured while the story works very well psychologically, the characters are interesting and the right ones are worth investing in. The character relationships generally have the right amount of tension and insight. As well as the right amount of suspense, culminating in an ending that still gives the chills.

In summary, very well done. 8/10

Captivating melodrama

[samhill5215 · 8/10 · 22 April 2011]

This one is a sleeper. It catches you by surprise. You think they're going one way but then they switch course and by the time you think you've figured it out they've switched again. Everything about is is first rate. The acting, dialog, scenery, direction, I mean everything. What's more surprising is that it takes place during Victorian England yet deals with subjects the gentle folk of that age preferred to keep under wraps. Despite the period costumes and scenery there's something very modern about the story. The two standouts here are both headliners, especially Ray Milland. His character starts out much like the one he played in "Dial M for Murder" but here he is more multi-dimensional, perhaps more human, not so narcissistic. And you can't help but like him, despite his shortcomings and machinations. Ann Todd too was very sympathetic despite her weakness for the charming Milland character. She exhibited an endearing vulnerability coupled with dogged determination. In the end I guess it had to end the way it did. But I fervently hoped for some other conclusion, one where the lovers pursued their dreams without wrecking the lives of others. That's how close I felt to them.

Ray Milland as the ultimate con man in Victorian thriller...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 3 May 2011]

It's not too often that likable RAY MILLAND played a downright villain or rogue, but he uses his roguish charm quite as well here as he would eventually in Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER. He plays a hard on his luck artist who lures ANN TODD into a romance, while she's unaware that she's a mere pawn in his game to steal money from her friend's husband. GERALDINE FITZGERALD is the woman friend and she, as usual, shines in support.

But it's really a film carried by Milland and Todd and they play against each other very well. The only weakness is that it's difficult to see why a woman as intelligent as Todd would fall so easily for the scheming Milland and then agree to do some dirty work on her friend's husband.

It's a Victorian crime of passion that takes its time in setting up the characters and the situations, but once the plot gets under way the viewer becomes involved in the story, thanks to some good direction, script and photography which gives a realistic feel to the gritty story with a downbeat ending.

Atmospheric and well worth watching for the little nuances along the way.

Hidden jewel

[lori84 · 19 September 2002]

I've casually caught this oldie on a regional network and remained very positively surprised: this movie is a little masterpiece, a misknown jewel of Hollywood false english style and probably the most underrated of the "flamboyant" melodramas of the period. A compelling psychological study for its time, with an absolutely outstanding Ann Todd(I've seen her in "The Paradine case" and sincerely I didn't expect such a performance from her). Both Milland and Fitzgerald, moreover, provide a strong support and the soundtrack is very compelling (if somewhere excessive).

Locket Love!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 4 April 2015]

So Evil My Love (AKA: For Her to See/The Obsessed) is directed by Lewis Allen and adapted to screenplay by Ronald Millar & Leonard Spigelgass from the novel written by Joseph Shearing (AKA: Marjorie Bowen). It stars Ray Milland, Ann Todd, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Leo Carroll. Music is scored by William Alwyn & Victor Young and cinematography by Max Green.

"This is a true story...one of the strangest chapters in the annals of crime. Its characters lived more than fifty years ago...the leading figures in a passionate game of love and murder. It began on a sailing vessel homeward bound from the West Indies for Liverpool...."

Lewis Allen's movie falls into that category of films tagged as Gaslight Noir – Period Noir. Marjorie Bowen's literary works were always ripe for such noirish period pickings, given that many of them feature dark doings, bad people, idiotic people and just plain misery, and this filmic adaptation is no different in that respect; gloriously so for the film noir faithful.

While not in the same league as the two Gaslight movies, So Evil My Love pulses throughout with tainted blood. The period flavours are lovely, the lead cast members at home in their settings, yet you will have to search far and wide for someone you can respect. Heading up the cast is Milland, who around this time was thoroughly enjoying himself playing troubled or bad boy roles, and here, as he drags all around him through the mud, he's having a grand old time of it.

Unfortunately the long running time proves a bit much for director Allen, who sinks into deep melodrama for a good portion of the mid- section, and this is where it comes close to being dull, but the final third is worth waiting for as the septic and the stupid trot along to their respective fate. It's also disappointing that Green's photography doesn't always enhance the turbulent atmosphere, so for better work from him seek out Hatter's Castle (1942) and the mightily great Night and the City (1950).

Lots to like here for period and Gothic noir fans though. 7/10

Karma wins

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 10 October 2013]

Widowed Ann Todd (Olivia) returns from Jamaica from her Missionary work and smoking loads of ganja to live out her life in her Kensington house where she rents a room to prudish busy-body Muriel Aked (Miss Shoebridge). On her trip back to the UK, she made friends with thief Ray Milland (Mike) who now shows up at her house looking for lodgings. She is unaware of his past and takes him in, but he has ulterior motives. He flatters and charms her until she falls in love with him and agrees to go along with his plans to blackmail the household of Todd's wealthy school friend Geraldine Fitzgerald (Susan) who is married to the bullying and socially-aspiring Raymond Huntley (Henry). However, things don't go to plan…..

The film develops at a leisurely pace and it seems a bit too long, but it is worth it for the final third when the tension starts to increase, and I certainly did not expect the final outcome when Todd and Milland meet up to make their getaway. I found it to be a satisfying conclusion which may leave you on a bit of a downer but it is effective melodrama.

The acting is good with a special mention to Ann Todd. She convinces as a vulnerable widow as well as a broken-hearted woman who is out for revenge. Milland's girlfriend Moira Lister (Kitty) also does well in one of the smaller roles and she is crucial to the way the story pans out in the end.

There is an atmospheric setting of Victorian London and the story is based on a true incident which all adds to the interest. It's a film that is worth seeing if only as a warning against being unfaithful in love. Don't expect forgiveness.

Ray Milland as a cad

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 14 April 2011]

"So Evil My Love" is a 1948 British film starring Ann Todd and Ray Milland. Todd plays Olivia, a widow returning from missionary work, who re-opens her house and takes in lodgers. Milland is Mark Bellis, a man she has met previously, who claims to be homeless and asks for a room. Though it isn't quite proper, she agrees. Olivia doesn't know that he's an art thief and has a girlfriend. She falls in love with him, and Mark seduces her into a life of crime and betrayal by having her take advantage of her wealthy, frail friend Susan (Geraldine Fitzgerald). Olivia and Mark steal from Susan's husband (Raymond Huntley). And that's not all.

Pretty good film, though it was a bit of a stretch for me to believe missionary Olivia going over to the dark side so quickly. All of the actors give good, solid performances, with Huntley and Fitzgerald standouts. Milland could play a con artist well, and Todd is enigmatic as Olivia, a woman with deep emotions beneath the surface. Leo G. Carroll plays a detective who preys on Olivia's conscience.

The movie is very dark and atmospheric. Some of the best scenes are in the last fifteen minutes. Recommended.

Hard to tell who the title refers to ...

[AlsExGal · 9/10 · 16 April 2011]

... since it could refer to both or either main characters Olivia Harwood (Ann Todd) and Mark Bellis (Ray Milland). The two outwardly seem as different as possible. They meet on a ship voyage from Jamaica to Britain when Olivia nurses Mark through a bout of malaria. She is penniless other than for a small property she owns in London and has been recently widowed. Her late husband, a missionary, died of malaria himself after the two had served in Jamaica for several years. Mark is a con man on the run, and out of funds he reluctantly has headed back to London - where he is also wanted by the law - to find those funds and get out of British controlled territory altogether.

At first Mark sees Olivia as just another mark for his cons and uses her attraction to him as a means of control. His actual girlfriend is a rather talkative floozy - Kitty - that he can only take in small doses. He does seem to prefer the quiet demeanor of Olivia, at least when he's got his thinking - or should I say plotting - cap on. However, Olivia begins to really enjoy the art of the con as taught to her by Mark and becomes an apt and inventive pupil. Their joint mark - an old school girl friend of Olivia's, the foolishly trusting Susan, played by Geraldine Fitzgerald, who is married to an adviser to the Queen. Olivia seems somewhat bitter that her life has turned out so impoverished when she was the brightest girl at school while the dim-witted Susan has the world at her feet through the accident of marriage. She uses this perceived inequitable outcome as justification for her actions.

Mark's feelings then become somewhat confused. He begins to have actual feelings for Olivia as he begins to realize that she is as cunning and lethal as he - she just needed a push to get her to have the courage of her lack of convictions.

This one has many interesting twists and turns, however do remember that this is a British production and is therefore probably going to seem somewhat understated for American fans of 40's noir. If you can understand that I think you'll like this one a great deal. I know I did.

"Do this one thing..."

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 25 April 2018]

"So Evil My Love" is a very good film. Despite two relatively small complaints, it's well made and well worth your time. During a sea voyage, Olivia (Ann Todd) takes care of a stranger, Mark (Ray Milland)....and by the end of the trip, they fall in love...or at least she falls for him. As for Mark, he's what folks today would call a sociopath--a criminal who has no compunction about using people to get what he wants. And, since Olivia is now completely taken with her, Mark manipulates her into doing all sorts of nastiness. Where does this all lead, see the film.

The first problem I saw with the film was at the beginning of the film. Olivia is a missionary returning to England following the death of her husband. Seeing her fall in love with Mark so quickly and strongly and throwing away her own moral compass seemed to happen too fast and didn't make a lot of sense for such a woman. The crisis of consciences that occurs near the end, it also didn't exactly ring true. However, despite these minor problems, Todd and Milland do fine jobs and the story still is very entertaining and juicy.

A delicious study of manipulation.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 23 January 2019]

How is the villain created? Are they manipulated by circumstances beyond their control to become evil? Or is evil thrust upon them through a bad brain? That is the question of this delicious period to clear an innocent missionary (Ann Todd) turns into a Sinister woman thanks to her love for a charming but manipulative sociopath (Ray Milland) who seems to believe that all he has to do is bring out a woman's hidden seductiveness to turn her into a puppet for his schemes. All it takes is a painting that takes Todd out of her prim and proper clothing and brings out the animal Instinct Milland claims is lying underneath.

Through Milland's brilliant subterfuge, Todd becomes the companion to an old school chum (Geraldine Fitzgerald), unhappily married to a controlling husband (Raymond Huntley) who keeps threatening to have her committed for insanity. When Todd aids Fitzgerald in becoming independent of her husband, Huntley dismisses her and prepares to send Fitzgerald away. This leads Todd to a desperate act of blackmail which leads to murder!

At first, I had a difficult time accepting Todd going from innocent to evil in such a short. Of time, but as I got more and more into the story, I became intrigued by the psychology behind the theme. It is riveting and eerie, with superb performances by the three leads. Fitzgerald is such a delicate flower, overpowered by husband Huntley and mother-in-law Martita Hunt, and the Intrigue of what happens to her leads to an exciting last third. Leo G Carroll shows up towards the end in a great cameo that is truly theatrical. The direction of the forgotten Lewis Allen (responsible for many great Paramount melodramas of the 1940's) is superb. This is a true sleeper that every fan of great melodrama must seek out.

More like "So Foolish"

[ldeangelis-75708 · 7/10 · 23 May 2022]

Ann Todd gives a very good performance as the widowed missionary Olivia Howard, who for once in her dull, dutiful life, lets herself go and embarks on an affair with bad guy Mark Bellis, charming painter, con artist, thief, burglar, suspected murderer, you name it, this guy appears to have done it, though that doesn't stop Olivia from falling for him, a far cry from her proper (and boring) late husband. Soon, she lets herself get talked into a blackmailing scheme, involving her friend Susan Courtney (played by Geraldine Fitzgerald), unhappily married to a rising politician, and involved with another man, whose letters to her could ruin both her reputation in society and her husband's career in politics. It all leads to Susan being accused of murdering her husband, thanks to the machinations of Ann, with help from her lover/mentor. Meanwhile, the man she loves and gave up her moral compass for, has been seeing his former girlfriend on the side.

Ann goes through changes in the course of the movie, her appearance reflecting that fact. At first, she looks all dull and dowdy, as befitting her prim and proper lifestyle, but soon after Mark comes into her life, she begins dressing fashionably, changes her hairstyle, even (literally) lets her hair down so he can paint her. Her reluctance to have him stay in her house after her female boarder leaves soon changes to a devil-may-care attitude, and she's not even asking about marriage after a time. She sacrifices everything, gladly, for love; only to have it all come crashing down around her.

Ironically, this happens at a time when Mark is beginning to reform and wants to make a new start. While he wants to become a good man for Ann (thanks to him), she's no longer the good woman she once was.

I won't say another word, except to tell all those looking for an old-fashioned happy ending not to hold your breath, or you'll be a lovely shade of blue.

The lodger

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 28 April 2010]

Olivia Harwood, a recent widow, is returning to England. Her Anglican minister husband, has died and left her a house in Kensington. There is a break of malaria on board the ship. The captain, knowing about her background in being exposed to the disease in Jamaica, asks her to help. Among the sick, there is a handsome man, Mark Bellis, who needs care. Olivia's fate is sealed by this encounter. Bellis, a forger and a criminal, goes after the impressionable Olivia, in whom he sees an easy mark when he realizes she is so vulnerable, with a bit of his charm, he will have her on his side. Olivia falls for this man against her better judgment.

Mark realizes he has found a treasure in Olivia. All the schemes Bellis had tried since his return to England have failed miserably. Olivia, who feels she can get a loan from her friend, Susan Courtney, now married to a wealthy man, is only too happy to see her friend. Susan offers some money to help her. Olivia, had promised Susan she will burn the letters in which Susan wrote about her liaison with a former beau, Sir John Curle, who she secretly loved. Mark, realizing how valuable that information is, wants to blackmail Henry Courtney in what he thinks is an easy scheme.

Olivia, having fallen head over heels with Mark, is all too willing to cooperate by getting valuable bonds from her all too-trusting friend, something that is detected by Henry Courtney when he learns about it. Henry, a man afflicted with high blood pressure, becomes the target for Mark Bellis, who uses Olivia in getting what he wants. When Henry dies, it is not from a heart attack, but from poisoning. All eyes fall on Susan, who is accused of killing her husband. It is at this point that Olivia realizes how Mark has manipulated her. Not only that, but Olivia realizes Mark never loved her. The realization that Mark had used her, and the impending death sentence of her friend Susan, makes Olivia come to unravel the web she helped create.

Not having seen this Paramount film of 1948, we took a chance that paid off with this surprising movie. Directed by Lewis Allen, and based on a novel by Joseph Shearing, it was adapted for the screen by Leonard Spigelgass and Ronald Millar. This melodrama presents a situation in which an unscrupulous man uses a vulnerable woman for his criminal purposes. That theme had been used before, but what gives this film its appeal is the way the viewer gets involved from the start.

Ann Todd, one of the best actresses from that period appears as Olivia. Ms. Todd gave an excellent performance as Olivia, a woman in love with a good for nothing. Ray Milland was at one of the best moments in his career. He always was a welcome addition to any film. Geraldine Fitzgerald, one of the most talented and kind human beings we have ever met, makes a good Susan Courtney. Raymond Huntley plays Henry Courtney. Leo G. Carroll, Martita Hunt, Moira Lister, and Roderick Lovell contribute to the picture in supporting roles.

Victor Young and William Alwyn created a musical score that goes well with the action. Max Greene's wonderful black and white cinematography enhances the film. Mr. Greene captured those dark Victorian interiors focusing in the characters expressions with extraordinary lighting their expressions, enhancing our pleasure.

"Wickedness abounds and is as universal as Love."

[brogmiller · 7/10 · 14 December 2021]

Marjorie Vere Long née Campbell wrote in various genres and under various pseudonyms but it is her 'fictionalised' novels written as Joseph Shearing and inspired by famous murder cases that have proved most popular with film makers. No less than four film adaptations were released within a two year period, the last of which is this, directed by Lewis Allen who is again working with Ray Milland.

Filmed at Denham Studios with a thankfully all British cast this is a highly watchable piece in which Ann Todd as Olivia, the widow of a missionary, proves that still waters run deep by falling under the spell of charming crook Mark, played with Mephistophelian relish by Mr. Milland.

It is however the performances of Raymond Huntley and Geraldine Fitzgerald as an improbably paired husband and wife that make the most impression. One could hardly describe Mr. Huntley's persona as 'endearing' and his casting here is spot on. As for Miss Fitzgerald, this splendid artiste quietly dominates her scenes and hers is by far the most interesting character. Splendid supporting players notably the imperious Martita Hunt, perfectly cast as Raymond Huntley's mother and Hitchcock regular Leo G. Carroll as the voice of Olivia's conscience whilst a future Oscar winner turns up as a magistrate.

Excellent art direction by Thomas Morahan and atmospherically shot in what is commonly referred to as 'Gaslight-noir' by the blacklisted Max Greene, here credited as Mutz Greenbaum.

Some have said that the sudden change in Olivia's character from shrinking violet to villainess fails to ring true but real life invariably shows that we all carry within us the seed of iniquity just waiting to be germinated and as Byron has observed: "Truth is stranger than fiction".

The Sources of film and story

[theowinthrop · 4 April 2004]

Joseph Shearing (a pseudonym) was a woman novelist specializing in tales based on actual murder cases. Her novel AIRING IN A CLOSED CARRIAGE is based on the murder of James Maybrick, presumably by his wife Florence in 1889. SO EVIL MY LOVE is based on an earlier poisoning case, the death (in 1876) of Charles Delauney Turner Bravo, a wealthy barrister, at his home "The Priory" in Balham, England. It is a murder that was never really settled. Although doubts remain as to James Maybrick being a victim of murder or accident, Florence was convicted after a controversial trial, and then got her sentence reduced. In the Bravo case, suspicion fell on his wife, on the wife's close friend, and on an elderly doctor who had an earlier affair with the wife. Nothing was really determined. Ms Shearing has opted for the close friend (in real life her name was Jane Cox)to be the killer, although driven to it here by her devotion to a cad (not historically true). The conclusion of the film, where Ann Todd discovers how Ray Milland used her and turns on him in a closed Hansom Cab seems based on a 1904 New York City murder, the Nan Patterson-Ceasar Young case.

All its excess Victorian baggage sinks period suspense drama

[bmacv · 6/10 · 13 July 2003]

Does a Victorian setting require a Victorian attention span? Lewis Allen, who directed So Evil My Love, must think so. Yawningly overlong and with a plot not just complicated but downright cumbersome, it's a period suspense drama that you keep watching only to see how it ends - a sense of postponed then forced release that leaves you fidgety rather than satisfied.

Widow of an overseas missionary, Ann Todd, on a voyage back from the West Indies, nurses malarial fellow-passenger Ray Milland to health. He's a failed artist but, it turns out, a practiced grifter. Once in London, he barges unbidden into her life, taking lodgings in the shabby-genteel house she owns (though it's hard to see what sort of soup he thought he could simmer out of this cold Anglican stone). Despite keeping a city-woman stashed on the side, Milland romances Todd, coaxing her to let her hair down (literally - it was a big deal back then) and have her portrait painted. Pinched and emotionally starved, she's finally under his thumb.

Since her means are too slender to keep Milland in the style to which he aspires, Todd writes to an old school chum (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and hits her up for a loan. A sadder case even than Todd, Fitzgerald nips at sherry in the gilded cage she has been locked in by her bastard of a husband (Raymond Huntley) - soon, he hopes, to be a peer of the realm. (There's a meaty subtext clamoring to be exploited, about how in this rigidly mannered era men could manipulate submissive women to their own advantage, but Allen fails to pursue it.)

Soon Huntley engages Todd as a `companion' to his wife, and Milland sniffs out a stash of old letters from Fitzgerald that Todd has kept; they tell of an earlier (possibly ongoing) love affair that could fuel a political scandal. Mix in a bum ticker, some potent roots and herbs from the tropics, and a couple of blackmail schemes, and all the machinery's in place for the plot to reach its conclusion. Trouble is, it doesn't race - it chugs slowly and methodically along.

Allen's an interesting if uneven director, but usually (Desert Fury, Chicago Deadline) he's better than this; he's defeated by the heavy, clunky plot (supposedly drawn from a true case). Still, welcome traces of his craft dress up the movie (when an unseen door opens, the candles flicker), though both Milland and Todd look uncomfortable in their roles. Boiled down by a quarter of its length and skimmed of at least one layer of intrigue, this melodrama might have been more digestible, like Gaslight or The Lodger or Sleep, My Love. Was it Mark Twain who said nobody could read Little Nell without laughing? So Evil My Love grows so baroque it starts to resemble farce.

Evil Accomplices

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 17 March 2014]

After Ray Milland won his Oscar for The Lost Weekend Paramount started giving him more challenging parts than the light leading men he had been playing mostly up to that point. Like Tyrone Power at 20th Century Fox he'd been longing for better roles showing his range. Like Tyrone Power he got them, especially this one in So Evil My Love.

There's a lot of similarities between Mark Bellis in this film and Stan Carlisle in Nightmare Alley. Both are degenerate conmen who pray on people without mercy. One thing that Power didn't do in Nightmare Alley is turn any women into evil accomplices. That's what Milland does in So Evil My Love.

The woman he turns is the beautiful Ann Todd a missionary's widow whom he met on ship. She was recently widowed and not in the best financial health. Milland is a charmer. She thinks of him as a painter and he is, but the starving life of an artist isn't for him. He's taken up all kinds of crime so he can live well. Unfortunately he's between ill gotten gains at the time he meets Todd.

Bit by bit Milland draws her in. In the end Todd not only commits murder, but is willing to let an old friend Geraldine Fitzgerald pay for the crime.

Milland would be playing against his former type now on a few occasions. His next film would be Alias Nick Beal where he plays a Satanic minion. And the public accepted him in a way they didn't with Power.

It's really Todd though that dominates this film. Her's is a wonderfully restrained performance of someone falling deeper and deeper into a pit of Milland's amorality that she can't climb out from. There's also a nice performance from Raymond Huntley who is Fitzgerald's husband. Not a terribly nice man, when he dies no one will mourn for him. But justice has to be served.

So Evil My Love definitely opened new vistas for Ray Milland and you'll appreciate that it did.

A woman scorned....

[SgtSchultz00 · 6/10 · 20 June 2011]

Enjoyable film-noir story (based on fact) with Ray Milland playing an against-type crook with guile, who "falls in love" with Ann Todd's Olivia, and in the process gets her to lie, steal, connive, and even set up her best friend. Does that bother her? Not really, but interestingly what sends her over the edge is that she finds out Ray also has a girlfriend on the side! Moral of the story: you can manipulate your "lover" into doing all sorts of bad deeds, just don't cheat on her too!

The film could probably be tightened up with better editing, but it still holds your interest. No it's not "Gaslight", but still something not to miss if you like film noir.

Powerful noir film set in the 1890s

[robert-temple-1 · 9/10 · 14 December 2013]

This is an excellent film on the very dark theme of the corruption of a woman's moral position as a result of her love for a congenital criminal. The film is so well made that you can practically see the virus spreading from him to her, especially as the woman is played by that sensitive and brilliant actress, Ann Todd, who had the talent for registering micro-emotions on her pale face as if it were a galvanometer. The story is based on a novel by that strangely elusive woman Gabrielle Campbell aka Gabrielle Margaret Vere Long, aka many other names, but here writing under the pseudonym of 'Joseph Shearing'. The next year, Hitchcock used one of her Shearing novels as the basis for his film UNDER CAPRICORN (1949), and the year before this, a superb film called MOSS ROSE (1947, see my forthcoming review) was made from another. The villain in this film, who is an oily charmer, is played by Ray Milland. Possibly because in real life Milland was an obsessive scrooge, he is here particularly convincing as a man manically obsessed by money. As he tempts Ann Todd down from her throne of grace as the widow of a missionary, and slowly but surely corrupts her, principle by principle, his eyes glint eerily with the evil of the title. Geraldine Fitzgerald is magnificent as the neurotic innocent, Todd's old schoolfriend, whose money and jewels are stolen by Todd on orders from Milland. Fitzgerald's crazed and sadistic control-freak husband is chillingly played by Raymond Huntley, and is no more admirable than the character played by Milland. The authoress must have known some very unpleasant men in order to portray their bad sides so convincingly! The film is excellently directed by Lewis Allen, who had directed Milland previously in THE UNINVITED (1944, see my review), and in the same year made that wonderfully charming film OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG AND GAY (1944). In 1945, Lewis failed to deliver and made an inferior mystery film called THE UNSEEN (see my review), in which the delicate talents of that rare flower, Gail Russell, were unfortunately wasted. In 1954, Lewis directed the well-known and terrifying film SUDDENLY with Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden. This film shows the slow but sure disintegration of the entire moral infrastructure of a human being so convincingly, that there never was a better lesson in the dangers of keeping bad company. And the ending of the film cannot fail to make the hair rise on the backs of all necks, but by the IMDb rules I cannot say more about it. This film is certainly worth watching, both as a moral lesson and as a profound film noir of the deepest hue.

Gaslight-Noir...Ray Milland & Ann Todd Take Turns Doing Deeds of the Devil

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 16 September 2023]

The Male-Equivalent of the "Femme Fatale '',

The Dark-Side Force sometimes Present in Film-Noir, but Not Always, that Brings an Innocent to Their Knees, before Sacrificing Them for the Devil...

When the Character Doing the Devil's Work is a Man Against an Innocent Woman it's Called "Homme Fatale"...

Enter Handsome and Charming Ray Milland that uses His Sex-Appeal along with His Silver-Tongue to Seduce an Innocent (Ann Todd).

Innocent Doesn't Quite Fully Capture the "Piety" of this Missionary-Widow who has Sacrificed Her Life for the Sick and the Poor.

Surprisingly, but Maybe Not, She is Quick Work for the, Worse than "Cad" Milland who seems to have Performed Many Evil Deeds with His Easy-Ways and Soul-Less Heart. All it Took for the Transformation was for the Artist Milland to Paint Her Portrait with Her Hair-Down.

It was Only that Hair-Pin that was Holding all the Repressed Inner-Desires (that God's Children) Keep Tied-Up...

Now, there's the Real Ann Todd, Unbridled and Ready to Ride, with Ray Milland in the Saddle.

It Starts with a Bit of Thievery, Jewels and Bonds from Her Old-School Mate (Geraldine Fitzgerald) who has Married Well, but Her Husband is Not Well in the Mind and the Body.

He is Such a Dictator, Prison Warden, Misogynist, Political-Climber, who Just Might be More Evil than the "Falling On Hard Times" Milland.

After She Cons and Steals from Her Old Friend, Ann Todd Gets a Taste of the Forbidden Fruit and Finds it "Sweet".

So, She Proceeds to Blackmail and Murder...Unfortunately, that bit of Nastiness is Found in Spoiler-Territory.

A Well Acted, Entertaining, Macabre Downfall from Saint to Sinner, can't Help but Intrigue.

This Fine Production Team has Made this an Irresistible Attraction...

to Seduce Those, Stiff-Upper-Lip Types, along with Anyone Else, that Feels the Desire to Taste a bit of That Fruit...

and Find Out just How Sweet it is,

and in the Process has Made this Movie...

Worth a Watch.

True Torment

[HarlequeenStudio · 9/10 · 31 March 2018]

This is like something out of Dostoevsky or Balzac or Émile Zola. A truly gripping story of corruption, betrayal and yes - love. The complex characters are masterfully played, the cinematography is convincingly Victorian and all the plot devices orchestrate a realistic crime story. The costumes worn by Ray Milland and Moira Lister seem a little bit uneven, his is more like late 19th century and hers has some 18th century overtones, so they looked odd standing next to each other, but that's the only flaw which maybe isn't even there. The overall atmosphere and production are so good that I don't know why I have to be such a stick in the mud. Oscar Wilde would have loved the story, particularly some of the quotes.

Variations on a Theme of Morality.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 22 February 2014]

It's not the kind of film I usually enjoy -- Victorian England is okay, but these dark dramas with all sorts of moral and psychological twists tend to be rather dull. There are exceptions. "Rebecca" has humor and perversion. "Gaslight" is neatly schematized. And "So Evil My Love", while not up to the best of them, bewitches the viewer after the first boring moments by exploring the depths of human depravity.

Ann Todd is a missionary's widow, seduced and thoroughly corrupted by Ray Milland, a penniless and perhaps talentless artist who seems capable of any measure of betrayal until finally, in the last scene, he has a road-to-Damascus experience and it turns out to be too late for him and for his paramour. The agent of this collapse, in a teeny part, is Leo G. Carroll, groomed like a refugee from a barbershop quartet.

The script is interesting. Once Todd falls for the blandishments of Milland, there is hardly any stopping her unscrupulous behavior. A school friend of Todd's youth -- the vulnerable and desolate Geraldine Fitzgerald -- is not only bilked of whatever small allowance she's permitted by her stuffy husband, Raymond Huntley, but unwittingly framed for Huntley's death as well. Milland and the distressed Todd are prepared to let Fitzgerald hang for a murder that Todd was responsible for. All of the characters, even Milland, are multi-dimensional. Milland may steal painting but he will not paint a fake Rembrandt because of his respect for real art.

Todd is efficient and that's about all. Milland is good as a villain -- but much better at being a suave and calculating villain, as he is here and in "Dial M For Murder", than as a pathetic villain, as he is in "The Lost Weekend" and "The Thief." He's really shifty here. When pressed, his eyes dart to the side and the sound track is almost overwhelmed by the sound of brass wheels turning and clacking inside his head. Fitzgerald gives a fine and sympathetic performance as the weak friend. "Women know what they want, but what they want is not always good for them," intones her airless and unventilated husband.

The screenplay has some clever touches by Leonard Spiegelgas, who wrote a heartfelt biography of his friend, Edward G. Robinson. As Milland is leaving one of his poor but accommodating lady friends behind, he accepts all her money, though she complains that modeling gigs are getting harder to find. "They say the June has gone out of my Juno." "Get a little fatter and you can be Venus."

One thing I found irritating. Fitzgerald makes a point of mentioning that her husband is about to be given a title. That's not such a big deal. I've been given lots of titles. I can't print most of them here but my high school yearbook captioned me, "Three Years, Minimum Security." The principal had me wear a sign around my neck, "Honi soi qui mal y pense, et il pense beaucoup." I ask you, is that a title, or what? I never figured out what it meant but I'm sure it was deeply profound otherwise it wouldn't be in Urdu. And my four ex spouses were even more ornamental in their attributions.

Good and evil are companions in this dark noir.

[mamalv · 8/10 · 23 January 2014]

I always thought Ray Milland was better in roles where he was allowed to show a darker side of his personality. The Lost Weekend garnered him a much deserved Oscar, showing that dark side which lurked beneath the charming exterior. Here he proves it to a tee once more. This role allows Milland to reach, and believe me he does it with a sinister charm that no one could resist. As the talented artist, much before his time, he uses women and men alike to rob and manipulate to have the life he thinks he deserves. Ann Todd as the missionary widow is totally captivated by this sly womanizer. She falls under his spell, and we see her transformed into a shadow of him. However we should not have been surprised of this change, as in the first scene we see her recently widowed letting the sea spray over her as if to release her from her confines. She thinks he is only true to her, but of course we know better. He struggles with his feelings for her, as maybe he sees her in the beginning as a shy woman, but toward the end he sees her much as himself. He is eventually having to come to terms with the fact that he has also fallen into her spell, and indeed does love her. We like the character of the artist here as a man in love for the first time, hoping against hope that all will end well, him being made over by love. Sadly, it does not end well when she meets the other woman, wearing the locket that she had given him. She was always capable of evil deeds, even though she showed everyone but him her other side. I wished it had ended with the declaration of his love being enough for her, but of course it was not. She realized that everything from the beginning was all about him. However she not only killed him she killed herself in the long run. Great film noir to be watched over and over again. Just got done reading the novel by Shearing. The book is quite different from the film. In the book, Olivia had always the idea to blackmail Susan's husband. The painter is not as large an evil presence in the book. Which if you think about both it was always Olivia, and the painter as evil as she was the push that she needed to pursue the evil deeds, leading to her own demise in the end.

Gothic melodrama

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 24 October 2023]

Ray Milland plays a portrait painter by day, and an art thief by night. Round the clock he's a schemer, always looking to get an advantage, and he finds one in a rather naïve missionary widow (Ann Todd). The roles are well-performed, but the film is too straightforward initially, as we know he's wanted by the law and see him subtly wheedle his way into her home and heart. At about the half hour point though, things take a turn for the better when we're introduced to her friend (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and her friend's domineering husband (Raymond Huntley).

While Milland's character is two-faced and uses sly dexterity to manipulate the widow all while carrying on with his lover, Huntley's character is blunt and controls his wife the old-fashioned way, by treating her like a child. "What women want is one thing, what's good for them is another," he says. To me the "Evil" in the title centers on these two men and how they control the women in their lives.

The film also references the fact that husbands could simply commit their wives to sanitoriums if they felt they were disobedient (or frankly for any other whim), the history of which in the 19th and early 20th centuries is truly horrifying. "I wished he would die. I still do," his wife says, and as the man becomes the target for being blackmailed, it's interesting that our sympathies lie with the criminal and his new accomplice. To the film's credit, the guy is a tough nut to crack, and the scenes where he fights back in his own ways were good ones.

Ann Todd's character was initially too malleable for my taste, but she came around. She's talked into helping the sick on the ship by its captain, she's talked into letting the rogue stay with her in London, hell, she's even talked into letting her hair down for him when he wants to paint her portrait. I was never completely satisfied with her because of this, but I liked how the arc of her character went to dark places, and her final act. I also liked how we're tempted to believe that Milland has become attached to her in the end, when the truth is he's undoubtedly still the same sociopath/master manipulator we've seen from the beginning.

All in all, it's a bit too long at 112 minutes, perhaps because a few too many melodramatic turns or questionable supporting roles, but with all of the scheming going on, it has its moments. Worth checking out.

Well constructed psychological film

[Marta · 16 January 1999]

One of those 40's/50's movies where everyone looks gorgeous and the acting is so subdued you'd think the cast was sleepwalking. Still, its a good psychological character study, and I kept watching just to find out what was going to happen.

Slave of Love

[st-shot · 7/10 · 13 November 2023]

Ray Milland is an absolute snake until love strikes too late in So Evil My Love, a Victorian noir with Milland and Ann Todd giving passionately understated performances befitting the film's mood. An outstanding supporting cast also add strongly to the well filmed story that is sometimes convoluted with competing plots and characters along with a manipulative music score.

Recently bitter widow Olivia Harwood (Todd), nurses con man Mark Bellis (Milland) back to health on a ship. He intends to swindle her but instead enlists the the highly proper minister's widow Olivia in going after bigger fish, a major government official and his alcoholic wife (Raymond Huntley and Geraldine Fitzgerald) in a blackmail scheme.

Milland plays the conniving grifter with a smug sense of superiority as the smartest person in the room well. Todd transitions from missionary to willing felon with both passion and despair.

Martita Hunt, Muriel Aked, Moira Lister and others register in support in this darkly entertaining if somewhat overlong thriller.