Overblown melodrama with Bette pulling out all the stops and putting any idea of subtlety aside. If you enjoy films where she turns in that sort of performance as opposed to her quieter work in films like Dark Victory or Watch on the Rhine than this is for you. Reunited with her Now, Voyager director but certainly not on a script of that calibre he seems unable to rein her in, everybody else tries to compete and while the rest of the cast turn in decent performances when Bette struts into view blowing smoke and popping her eyes no one else stands a chance. Filmed directly after one of her best performances in All About Eve and with new husband Gary Merrill in tow she apparently didn't think much of the script and as she sometimes did when faced with less than stellar material she plays to the balconies. Deliciously grand and over the top.
59 Reviews
Recommend for tight structure
Builders5 February 2006
I appreciate this terse movie's smart script, staging, and tight editing, especially upon second viewing. Of course the nosy neighbor veterinarian serves mainly as a plot vehicle, but the role is well acted. Gary Merrill's George Bates seems lacking some refinement of expression. He plays it like an open book, and makes Bates a totally sympathetic character. The story hinges on the power plays between Bates and devious Janet as, chained together by their crimes, they struggle for the upper hand via her scheming and his brute force. Their tortured relationship could have a plausible chance for success, given the plot circumstances, but the secretary's fiancé Larry is in the way, creating a tension that draws the characters to the unhappy climax. Davis is in good form, and this is an entertaining film.
Since there is a finite number of Bette Davis films available for viewing in 2006, one has to value each for what it is. Although "Poison" may not be in her top 10, Davis is the master, and it is infinitely preferable to experience it than not.
Since there is a finite number of Bette Davis films available for viewing in 2006, one has to value each for what it is. Although "Poison" may not be in her top 10, Davis is the master, and it is infinitely preferable to experience it than not.
Marital Masquerade
bkoganbing22 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Real life married couple Bette Davis and Gary Merrill went to the United Kingdom to do this feature film based on a play by Leslie Sands. Another Man's Poison had no run on Broadway so I had no cast in which to compare the movie cast with. I would dearly have loved to know who the original British cast was, that would prove interesting.
With her clipped New England speech, Bette Davis like Katharine Hepburn had no trouble doing occasional English roles, Davis in fact did the best of them all, their good Queen Elizabeth on two occasions. Here she's something less than a Queen, she's a willful manipulator of people and events something I'm guessing she picked up in her profession as an Agatha Christie type mystery writer.
Before the events of the film start we learn that Bette is estranged from her husband whom none of the villagers in the small hamlet in the United Kingdom have met. She says he's in Malaya growing rubber on a plantation, but in fact he's a bank robber and he came there looking for her to give him shelter and a hideout. Instead because she's got big eyes for Anthony Steel, the fiancé of her secretary Barbara Murray she kills her husband and hides the body.
When to start the action in walks Gary Merrill her husband's accomplice in the robbery and also a wanted man. When the local veterinarian Emlyn Williams comes to call Merrill pretends he's long lost husband and Davis backs him up.
Which starts a relationship of convenience for both Davis and Merrill both stuck with each other, but both needing each other to some degree. But with Bette manipulating to trap Steel at the same time the whole situation just simmers to a boil in the end.
Best in the cast is Emlyn Williams. His veterinarian comes over like a country bumpkin, but he's really quite astute, almost like a rural English Columbo. Over here they would have the veterinarian the lead in a television series.
Not top drawer Bette Davis, but in fact her bravura acting style carries this film over some rough patches. Another, a lesser actress might have not done as much with the material, but Bette Davis certainly could and did.
With her clipped New England speech, Bette Davis like Katharine Hepburn had no trouble doing occasional English roles, Davis in fact did the best of them all, their good Queen Elizabeth on two occasions. Here she's something less than a Queen, she's a willful manipulator of people and events something I'm guessing she picked up in her profession as an Agatha Christie type mystery writer.
Before the events of the film start we learn that Bette is estranged from her husband whom none of the villagers in the small hamlet in the United Kingdom have met. She says he's in Malaya growing rubber on a plantation, but in fact he's a bank robber and he came there looking for her to give him shelter and a hideout. Instead because she's got big eyes for Anthony Steel, the fiancé of her secretary Barbara Murray she kills her husband and hides the body.
When to start the action in walks Gary Merrill her husband's accomplice in the robbery and also a wanted man. When the local veterinarian Emlyn Williams comes to call Merrill pretends he's long lost husband and Davis backs him up.
Which starts a relationship of convenience for both Davis and Merrill both stuck with each other, but both needing each other to some degree. But with Bette manipulating to trap Steel at the same time the whole situation just simmers to a boil in the end.
Best in the cast is Emlyn Williams. His veterinarian comes over like a country bumpkin, but he's really quite astute, almost like a rural English Columbo. Over here they would have the veterinarian the lead in a television series.
Not top drawer Bette Davis, but in fact her bravura acting style carries this film over some rough patches. Another, a lesser actress might have not done as much with the material, but Bette Davis certainly could and did.
Bette in "Eve" mode; great setting; fun movie!
CraigHamrick21 September 2004
Okay, it's not an Oscar-winner, but this movie is a lot of fun, especially if you're a Bette Davis fan. The setting, a spooky, isolated British mansion, is strongly portrayed; by the end, you really feel like you've spent time some time within the oak-paneled walls. Bette looks just like she did in "All About Eve" -- same hairstyle and similar wardrobe, so it's easy to imagine that this could have been a Margo Channing movie. And of course her costar is Garry Merrill, with whom she also starred in "Eve." This was adapted from a stage play, so I think it's interesting to pay attention to the structure and limited changes of location, which are an indicator of its stage pedigree. This one shows up on TCM once in a while; sit back and enjoy.
The dark recesses of the female mind.
hitchcockthelegend8 May 2014
Another Man's Poison is directed by Irving Rapper and adapted to screenplay by Val Guest from the play "Deadlock" written by Leslie Sands. It stars Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams, Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray. Music is by John Greenwood and Paul Sawtell and cinematography by Robert Krasker.
A whole bunch of fun if expectation levels are correctly set. Another Man's Poison is essentially a one set piece (confirming its stage origins), with primary focus on just five people and a horse. It's a tale of murder, deception and carnal desires, the latter of which is wrung out via Janet Frobisher's (Davis) affair with a much younger man who happens to be the intended of her secretary.
Frobisher is quite frankly a bitch, something which Davis attacks with relish and no little amount of histrionic camp. She's the fulcrum of the story, but all the other key characters here are either stupid, ignorant, devious or all three in one go! Oh yes, this is a regular hot- bed of people you really wouldn't want to be hanging around with for long.
It's these characterisations that along with Krasker's photography just about earns the pic its film noir badge. The script isn't up to much - where stories about changes being made by Williams and Davis and Merrill (hubbie and wife) being unhappy – are common place, but it never outstays its welcome by being boring and Bette being batty is always good entertainment. 6.5/10
A whole bunch of fun if expectation levels are correctly set. Another Man's Poison is essentially a one set piece (confirming its stage origins), with primary focus on just five people and a horse. It's a tale of murder, deception and carnal desires, the latter of which is wrung out via Janet Frobisher's (Davis) affair with a much younger man who happens to be the intended of her secretary.
Frobisher is quite frankly a bitch, something which Davis attacks with relish and no little amount of histrionic camp. She's the fulcrum of the story, but all the other key characters here are either stupid, ignorant, devious or all three in one go! Oh yes, this is a regular hot- bed of people you really wouldn't want to be hanging around with for long.
It's these characterisations that along with Krasker's photography just about earns the pic its film noir badge. The script isn't up to much - where stories about changes being made by Williams and Davis and Merrill (hubbie and wife) being unhappy – are common place, but it never outstays its welcome by being boring and Bette being batty is always good entertainment. 6.5/10
Interesting plot idea nets entertaining result
Night Must Fall20 June 2002
I'm sure it's all been done before, but if you are a Bette Davis fan like me, then you know that few do it better. A lovely-haired Davis and then-husband Gary Merrill play off of each other alternately uninterestingly or with fireworks, all in the same film. Merrill's performance is pretty uneven. I can't say I've seen too much of his work, but he's usually better than he is here, given the fact that his character is betrayed-angry-man-done-wrong. Here his performance lacks energy.
The double-crosses come thick and fast in this one, so the viewer must pay attention to the (sometimes quite good) dialog, or confusion may strike.
The other couple in the film, Larry and Chris (Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray) are bland to say the least. Steel is given more to do than Murray, and gives a semi-convincing performance as Bette's toy boy, but the character (as well as Murray's) is underwritten. The film is definitely a Davis vehicle, and she runs with the ball like the pro she is. Murray's lot is mostly stuck in reaction mode, but she does OK with what she has.
Goofy-looking Emlyn Williams plays pesty-neighbor-from-hell Dr. Henderson decently, and looks as though he is having a ball doing so. The Mr. Bigley character, representing, I suppose, a colorful local type, comes across as dense and reprehensible. What were the writers thinking there, I wonder.
The plot takes elements from various scenarios that we've all seen, and the result is not extremely coherent, yet very entertaining. The directing is great, with some wonderful shots. I enjoyed the film throughout.
I especially like the ending, and its retribution as Davis' character says (something along the lines of): `thanks, I hadn't thought of that idea, but it'll work out fine.' Oh, the irony.
Bottom line: its strengths overcome its weaknesses there are much worse ways to spend an hour and a half.
The double-crosses come thick and fast in this one, so the viewer must pay attention to the (sometimes quite good) dialog, or confusion may strike.
The other couple in the film, Larry and Chris (Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray) are bland to say the least. Steel is given more to do than Murray, and gives a semi-convincing performance as Bette's toy boy, but the character (as well as Murray's) is underwritten. The film is definitely a Davis vehicle, and she runs with the ball like the pro she is. Murray's lot is mostly stuck in reaction mode, but she does OK with what she has.
Goofy-looking Emlyn Williams plays pesty-neighbor-from-hell Dr. Henderson decently, and looks as though he is having a ball doing so. The Mr. Bigley character, representing, I suppose, a colorful local type, comes across as dense and reprehensible. What were the writers thinking there, I wonder.
The plot takes elements from various scenarios that we've all seen, and the result is not extremely coherent, yet very entertaining. The directing is great, with some wonderful shots. I enjoyed the film throughout.
I especially like the ending, and its retribution as Davis' character says (something along the lines of): `thanks, I hadn't thought of that idea, but it'll work out fine.' Oh, the irony.
Bottom line: its strengths overcome its weaknesses there are much worse ways to spend an hour and a half.
A good Bette Davis vehicle
stills-612 August 2000
Another in a long line of Davis' deliciously evil roles. This film has the same feel as "The Little Foxes", but with a bit more scenery chewing. I was a little puzzled as to some of the plot developments, but on the whole such things don't mean much when you're watching Davis and Merrill try to outmaneuver each other.
I didn't care much for the rest of the cast, but what does it matter? Davis makes it a very satisfying experience.
I didn't care much for the rest of the cast, but what does it matter? Davis makes it a very satisfying experience.
Don't mess with Bette - ever!
blanche-22 June 2006
Still fresh from their success and newfound love in "All About Eve," Bette Davis and Gary Merrill made this independent film, "Another Man's Poison," based on a play by Leslie Sands. Davis is Janet Frobisher, a successful mystery writer living in a mausoleum of a house out on the moors. When her husband's partner in a bank robbery comes there looking for him, Frobisher announces that he's in the study - dead from the poison she gave him (medicine intended for her beloved horse, Fury). While they're attempting to dispose of the body, Frobisher's paramour, whom she summoned earlier, arrives with his fiancé (who is also Frobisher's secretary). The bank robber, named George Bates, introduces himself as Frobisher's estranged husband and settles in.
This is a neat, atmospheric story with an edgy, vital performance by Davis. Merrill, ruggedly handsome, is appropriately gruff and sinister. Though his character thinks he and Frobisher might really have a chance at playing house, his competition is the very handsome, young Anthony Steel, a popular British matinée idol of the '40s. Emlyn Williams is marvelous as the nosy, annoying veterinarian who keeps stopping by.
"Another Man's Poison" seems to have been made rather cheaply - the print I saw was not of great quality, and the lighting is on the dark side. Though the setting is somewhat static because it was originally a play, the film is very intriguing, and Davis always worth seeing. Highly recommended.
This is a neat, atmospheric story with an edgy, vital performance by Davis. Merrill, ruggedly handsome, is appropriately gruff and sinister. Though his character thinks he and Frobisher might really have a chance at playing house, his competition is the very handsome, young Anthony Steel, a popular British matinée idol of the '40s. Emlyn Williams is marvelous as the nosy, annoying veterinarian who keeps stopping by.
"Another Man's Poison" seems to have been made rather cheaply - the print I saw was not of great quality, and the lighting is on the dark side. Though the setting is somewhat static because it was originally a play, the film is very intriguing, and Davis always worth seeing. Highly recommended.
worth watching
MtnShelby28 November 2014
I agree with other reviewers who found merit in this film. Maybe because I watched it "on a dark and stormy night," I found the film to have quite a few endearing qualities, including a sufficiently gloomy and Gothic setting, solid acting, a big dash of melodrama (sometimes unintentionally funny), some brilliant catch phrases, a couple of handsome equines, some much-needed tawdriness, intriguing real world background, an astute and meddling detective type, and of course Bette as the menacing, manipulative author of thrillers (undoubtedly as sordid as her behavior). I mean, what's not to like? Sure, the plot has some real twists that are beyond suspending disbelief, and the quality of the film isn't the best, but if you're a fan of the genre or Bette, then this is a must see. But first, pour yourself a stiff drink. Preferably, direct from the bottle.
Bette Davis and Gary Merrill in clinch and deadly duel of meanness
clanciai25 May 2018
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.
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.
this film-noir does pull out all its stops to suffix poetic justice in its cockamamie plot
lasttimeisaw12 June 2019
Whisked away to make this murder-mystery with her newly hitched fourth husband Gary Merrill in Britain, a follow-up of her "all-time best performance" in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's ALL ABOUT EVE (1950), Ms. Davis recruits the director of NOW, VOYAGER (1942), Irving Rapper to take the helm, but overall, the final product is a secondary offering in every aspect.
ANOTHER MAN'S POISON, takes place in a Podunk Northern England town, mostly, sets in an isolated mansion inhabited by mystery novelist Janet Frobisher (Davis), who has no qualms about poisoning her long-absent husband when the latter gets rough, and soon is pressed into playing wife and husband with George Bates (Merrill), her husband's bank-robbing accomplice, on the contingency to cover for her crime and grant George a haven to stay, one stone two birds? Hardly so.
The imposter game is played out with barbs and ploys duly leveling at each other, while Merrill is fierce enough to be alternately menacing, callous and wanton, winning an upper hand for him is a forlorn hope from the very start in the face of Davis' characteristic wide-eyed fearlessness and insidious fickleness. Firing on all cylinders, her madness and vile calculation completely overshadows the danger befalling on a woman mired in a precarious situation, thus not for one second, audience dreads for Janet's safety, which makes her a less all-around character for the sake of characterization. She is no man's fortune and all man's poison, yet, Janet still enjoys a last laugh before ironically hoisted by her own petard.
Also enmeshed in the fix (though unwittingly) is Janet's secretary Chris Dale (a comely Murray, calmly nerves herself to confront Davis in a poorly designed role) and her fiancé Larry (a blandly handsome Steel), who actually is Janet's paramour for almost a year. While the bloom is clearly off the rose, Davis (at the age of 43) pluckily knuckles down the cougar town and as this reviewer sees it, takes more pleasure in the scenes where a youthful Chris concedes defeat to her and implores her to give Larry back, lines like "you are a charming woman who can have any man you want." appear many time to reassure Davis that her appeal still prevail (over her much younger competitors), but in hindsight, a self-defeating whiff of deep-rooted insecurity is all one can sniff.
British actor Emlyn Williams, third-billed as the nosey-parker, smart-aleck veterinarian-turned-amateur-sleuth Dr. Henderson, has never bedded in felicitously in his somewhat vexing and often unaccountable blow-ins, a better script can offer more coherence, and one thing is for sure, this film-noir does pull out all its stops to suffix poetic justice in its cockamamie plot.
ANOTHER MAN'S POISON, takes place in a Podunk Northern England town, mostly, sets in an isolated mansion inhabited by mystery novelist Janet Frobisher (Davis), who has no qualms about poisoning her long-absent husband when the latter gets rough, and soon is pressed into playing wife and husband with George Bates (Merrill), her husband's bank-robbing accomplice, on the contingency to cover for her crime and grant George a haven to stay, one stone two birds? Hardly so.
The imposter game is played out with barbs and ploys duly leveling at each other, while Merrill is fierce enough to be alternately menacing, callous and wanton, winning an upper hand for him is a forlorn hope from the very start in the face of Davis' characteristic wide-eyed fearlessness and insidious fickleness. Firing on all cylinders, her madness and vile calculation completely overshadows the danger befalling on a woman mired in a precarious situation, thus not for one second, audience dreads for Janet's safety, which makes her a less all-around character for the sake of characterization. She is no man's fortune and all man's poison, yet, Janet still enjoys a last laugh before ironically hoisted by her own petard.
Also enmeshed in the fix (though unwittingly) is Janet's secretary Chris Dale (a comely Murray, calmly nerves herself to confront Davis in a poorly designed role) and her fiancé Larry (a blandly handsome Steel), who actually is Janet's paramour for almost a year. While the bloom is clearly off the rose, Davis (at the age of 43) pluckily knuckles down the cougar town and as this reviewer sees it, takes more pleasure in the scenes where a youthful Chris concedes defeat to her and implores her to give Larry back, lines like "you are a charming woman who can have any man you want." appear many time to reassure Davis that her appeal still prevail (over her much younger competitors), but in hindsight, a self-defeating whiff of deep-rooted insecurity is all one can sniff.
British actor Emlyn Williams, third-billed as the nosey-parker, smart-aleck veterinarian-turned-amateur-sleuth Dr. Henderson, has never bedded in felicitously in his somewhat vexing and often unaccountable blow-ins, a better script can offer more coherence, and one thing is for sure, this film-noir does pull out all its stops to suffix poetic justice in its cockamamie plot.
Forget the plot holes its great
mls418218 June 2021
Deliciously nasty....
planktonrules29 May 2017
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!
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!
One overblown storm
TheLittleSongbird10 February 2020
Have said quite a few times regarding being a big admirer of Bette Davis, one of the best actresses of her generation and ever in my and many others' view. And it is Davis that was the biggest draw in seeing 'Another Man's Poison'. Other big draws being the premise which actually was intriguing, and that it was directed by Irving Rapper. Who also directed Davis more than once and with much success, especially with one of her finest ever performances in 'Now Voyager'.
That is not to say that Davis never made a bad film or never gave bad performances, almost every actor/actress/director had at least one misfire. They did exist on both counts in the case of Davis, while vastly eclipsed by the vast number of good to superb films and performances she had. 'Another Man's Poison' does have moments, even if they were not great themselves, but it is with regret that my opinion matches those that consider it one of her worst films (one of Rapper's worst too).
Davis in comparison to most of everything else doesn't fare too awfully here. It is a long way from one of her best performances, but to me she has done worse. Although she is very over the top, especially the quite outrageous scenery chewing in the climax, Davis at least gives it her absolute all and is actually the only actor/actress in the whole film that showed signs of trying. That can't be said for, for example, 'Wicked Stepmother' (her final film) where her utter contempt for the film showed loud and clear on screen.
Also found the Gothic setting to be quite striking and the photography and eerie lighting accentuated that quality. The climax is overblown to the absolute extreme, with some unintentional laughs guaranteed, but it is also the most interesting 'Another Man's Poison' gets.
On the other hand, the rest of the cast show nowhere near the same amount of enthusiasm that Davis does. Gary Merrill lacks the intensity needed for his role, doing little with the sympathetic character role, and Anthony Steel and Barbara Steele are also very bland in underwritten roles. Steel particularly is very forgettable. Emlyn Williams does do his best and does fare the best of the rest of the cast, but has an irritating character to work with. Rapper's direction never rises above routine, which was disappointing as on paper this type of film would have been well suited to him.
Furthermore, the script is too talk heavy, constantly sounds awkward and goes overboard on the camp, some of the dialogue alone is enough to induce unintentional laughs. The story never really ignites in terms of pace, coming to life only in the climax for not necessarily the right reasons, and is a mess of ridiculously overblown melodrama due to the histrionics rising well above fever pitch, convolutions and serious credibility-straining. Next to nothing rings true or makes sense here and there is a stagy feel throughout. Didn't find myself connecting to any of the characters, with the most sympathetic character being still underwritten and blandly played.
In summary, semi-watchable if wanting to see every film Davis made but there are numerous far better films and performances of hers. A curio but a somewhat "interesting" failure. 4/10
That is not to say that Davis never made a bad film or never gave bad performances, almost every actor/actress/director had at least one misfire. They did exist on both counts in the case of Davis, while vastly eclipsed by the vast number of good to superb films and performances she had. 'Another Man's Poison' does have moments, even if they were not great themselves, but it is with regret that my opinion matches those that consider it one of her worst films (one of Rapper's worst too).
Davis in comparison to most of everything else doesn't fare too awfully here. It is a long way from one of her best performances, but to me she has done worse. Although she is very over the top, especially the quite outrageous scenery chewing in the climax, Davis at least gives it her absolute all and is actually the only actor/actress in the whole film that showed signs of trying. That can't be said for, for example, 'Wicked Stepmother' (her final film) where her utter contempt for the film showed loud and clear on screen.
Also found the Gothic setting to be quite striking and the photography and eerie lighting accentuated that quality. The climax is overblown to the absolute extreme, with some unintentional laughs guaranteed, but it is also the most interesting 'Another Man's Poison' gets.
On the other hand, the rest of the cast show nowhere near the same amount of enthusiasm that Davis does. Gary Merrill lacks the intensity needed for his role, doing little with the sympathetic character role, and Anthony Steel and Barbara Steele are also very bland in underwritten roles. Steel particularly is very forgettable. Emlyn Williams does do his best and does fare the best of the rest of the cast, but has an irritating character to work with. Rapper's direction never rises above routine, which was disappointing as on paper this type of film would have been well suited to him.
Furthermore, the script is too talk heavy, constantly sounds awkward and goes overboard on the camp, some of the dialogue alone is enough to induce unintentional laughs. The story never really ignites in terms of pace, coming to life only in the climax for not necessarily the right reasons, and is a mess of ridiculously overblown melodrama due to the histrionics rising well above fever pitch, convolutions and serious credibility-straining. Next to nothing rings true or makes sense here and there is a stagy feel throughout. Didn't find myself connecting to any of the characters, with the most sympathetic character being still underwritten and blandly played.
In summary, semi-watchable if wanting to see every film Davis made but there are numerous far better films and performances of hers. A curio but a somewhat "interesting" failure. 4/10
Great Bette Davis feature
sapblatt4 December 2003
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.
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.
Witty Game
claudio_carvalho2 July 2010
In New Yorkshimore, the adulterous writer of mystery novels Janet Frobisher (Bette Davis) is surprised by the stranger George Bates (Gary Merrill) that is waiting for her inside her isolated house nearby a lake seeking out her husband George Preston. Bates tells Janet that her husband and he had robbed a bank; however her husband panicked in the heist and shot a guard. Janet tells that she is alone and surprisingly reveals that she had poisoned her husband and shows his body in the office. Out of the blue, her nosy next door neighbor Dr. Henderson (Emlyn Williams) pays a visit to her and George introduces himself as Janet's estranged husband that was traveling in Himalaya. Then they decide to dump the body in the lake, but Janet's secretary Chris Dale (Barbara Murray) and her fiancé and Janet's lover Larry Steven (Anthony Steel) arrive for the weekend and George dispose the corpse alone. Along the next days, the situation becomes tense with the quartet while Dr. Henderson snoops the house. When George kills Janet's horse Fury, the cynical writer plots a plan to gets rid of the inconvenient George.
"Another Man's Poison" is a theatrical film shot practically in one location with a plot about murder and adultery that is indeed a witty mouse-and-cat game. The fantastic Bette Davis plays the role of a devilish selfish woman that only loves her horse Fury. Emlyn Williams performs an irritating character and only in the end there is an explanation for his annoying attitude. The conclusion is ironic and the black-humor is moralist in a certain viewpoint. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Mulher Maldita" ("Damned Woman")
"Another Man's Poison" is a theatrical film shot practically in one location with a plot about murder and adultery that is indeed a witty mouse-and-cat game. The fantastic Bette Davis plays the role of a devilish selfish woman that only loves her horse Fury. Emlyn Williams performs an irritating character and only in the end there is an explanation for his annoying attitude. The conclusion is ironic and the black-humor is moralist in a certain viewpoint. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Mulher Maldita" ("Damned Woman")
Stagy mystery vehicle set on the moors not Davis' shining hour
bmacv20 June 2002
Mystery novelist Bette Davis has taken a house on the Yorkshire Moors, an inhospitable mausoleum that puzzlingly draws a number of unexpected visitors. One evening she returns home to find a stranger (Gary Merrill) ensconced in an easy chair. He has come to settle accounts with her ne'er-do-well husband, with whom he pulled off a robbery in London that ended with a policeman's being shot. Unfortunately, Davis has just poisoned said husband, whose body stiffens in the library. A quick shift in circumstances has Merrill posing as the husband, an inconvenience since Davis is also having an affair with the fiancé of her young secretary....
Another Man's Poison started out as a stage play, with the result that it's talky and contrived. Hardly a scene goes by without interruption from one or another of those visitors crashing in through various doors. Among them is snoopy veterinarian Emlyn Williams, whose lucky patients are generally dumb. Davis and Merrill plot against each other with all the ingenuity of Elizabethan revenge tragedy even Davis' pet steed falls victim to the murderous ploys.
Between Davis' spectacular comeback in All About Eve and her startling second comeback in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, she had some lean years with poor parts. When she lacked a full-blooded character to play, her acting became sharply mannered and elocutionary, as here. Fans of thrillers written for the British footlights, like The Mousetrap or Williams' own Night Must Fall, may find Another Man's Poison reasonably satisfying; it's a contraption, and once it's over there's no need to think back on it. But it is decidedly lesser Bette Davis.
Another Man's Poison started out as a stage play, with the result that it's talky and contrived. Hardly a scene goes by without interruption from one or another of those visitors crashing in through various doors. Among them is snoopy veterinarian Emlyn Williams, whose lucky patients are generally dumb. Davis and Merrill plot against each other with all the ingenuity of Elizabethan revenge tragedy even Davis' pet steed falls victim to the murderous ploys.
Between Davis' spectacular comeback in All About Eve and her startling second comeback in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, she had some lean years with poor parts. When she lacked a full-blooded character to play, her acting became sharply mannered and elocutionary, as here. Fans of thrillers written for the British footlights, like The Mousetrap or Williams' own Night Must Fall, may find Another Man's Poison reasonably satisfying; it's a contraption, and once it's over there's no need to think back on it. But it is decidedly lesser Bette Davis.
And then a poisonous spider met another poisonous spider...
myriamlenys9 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A female thriller author has murdered her estranged husband, for a variety of reasons. While she's pondering the best way in which to get rid of the corpse, an unexpected visitor drops by. The stranger insists on speaking to the deceased...
"Another man's poison" is a thriller about an extremely dangerous woman who meets an extremely dangerous man. Like two predators inhabiting the same territory they can choose to go for the occasional truce or even the occasional collaboration, but they're basically vying for supremacy - and since Nature is red in tooth and claw... It's an engaging thriller with a number of clever twists. The ending is particularly well plotted.
It's a bit of a pity that the movie should betray its theatrical roots : there is a lot, a great lot, of doors opening and of people entering left and exiting right. (Sadly there was no "exit, pursued by a bear". A missed opportunity !) However, there's a great deal to enjoy, such as witty jokes about life in a rural village. For instance, the male anti-hero is repeatedly invited to hold a lecture about his time in the exotic East - not an easy assignment, given that he never spent time in the exotic East. One rather guesses that the next task would consist of a series of cooking lessons on how to prepare Malay cauliflower curries. And of course the viewer gets to enjoy a splendidly venomous Bette Davis, one of the few actresses capable of looking threatening rather than silly in jodhpurs and whip. Her knowing, experienced, tired face is almost a performance in itself.
"Another man's poison" is a thriller about an extremely dangerous woman who meets an extremely dangerous man. Like two predators inhabiting the same territory they can choose to go for the occasional truce or even the occasional collaboration, but they're basically vying for supremacy - and since Nature is red in tooth and claw... It's an engaging thriller with a number of clever twists. The ending is particularly well plotted.
It's a bit of a pity that the movie should betray its theatrical roots : there is a lot, a great lot, of doors opening and of people entering left and exiting right. (Sadly there was no "exit, pursued by a bear". A missed opportunity !) However, there's a great deal to enjoy, such as witty jokes about life in a rural village. For instance, the male anti-hero is repeatedly invited to hold a lecture about his time in the exotic East - not an easy assignment, given that he never spent time in the exotic East. One rather guesses that the next task would consist of a series of cooking lessons on how to prepare Malay cauliflower curries. And of course the viewer gets to enjoy a splendidly venomous Bette Davis, one of the few actresses capable of looking threatening rather than silly in jodhpurs and whip. Her knowing, experienced, tired face is almost a performance in itself.
Arsenic And Old Spice
writers_reign2 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This was one of the last films in which Bette Davis would play love scenes although as a fine actress she didn't have to rely on sex appeal to obtain work. There was something of an old-home-week atmosphere at work here; seven years earlier she had played Miss Moffat in The Corn Is Green, a huge stage success written by Emlyn Williams, who played opposite her here and apart from that the director was journeyman Irving Rapper who made several movies with Davis including Now, Voyager. The actual film is about one step above a pot-boiler and would be difficult to make work without a lead of Davis' calibre. She was still in the first full year of her marriage to Gary Merrill which may explain why he was cast as her leading man and it's interesting to note that the ending is not unlike Duel In The Sun without the desert.
An outstanding movie, a must watch for fans of Bette Davies.
Sleepin_Dragon23 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
That old saying 'they don't make 'um like this anymore' seems wonderfully applicable here, no distracting special effects or nonsense, this is all about story and delivery. Gary Merrill was a wonderful talent, I've seen plenty of his work, but here he is particularly good, in part because he spars throughout the film with Bette Davies. We all have our favourite Bette Davies film and performance, she is outstanding here, a striking woman, both in appearance and capability. She delivers her lines with meaning, reason and honesty, she is dark, believable, a true Femme Fatale.
Barbara Murray and Anthony Steel make a wonderfully attractive young couple, they offer great support to the leading cast, as does Emlyn Williams (the interfering vet.)
The film is loaded with intrigue, full of twists, and the plot itself is incredibly deep and intricate. You watch from start to finish not knowing which way it's going to go, and what the outcome will be. Crazy to realise it was made in 1951. The music on occasion seems at odds with the plot.
A film of great quality.
Barbara Murray and Anthony Steel make a wonderfully attractive young couple, they offer great support to the leading cast, as does Emlyn Williams (the interfering vet.)
The film is loaded with intrigue, full of twists, and the plot itself is incredibly deep and intricate. You watch from start to finish not knowing which way it's going to go, and what the outcome will be. Crazy to realise it was made in 1951. The music on occasion seems at odds with the plot.
A film of great quality.
Bette Davis' Janet is no weeping willow in this dark thriller!
cgvsluis4 February 2022
Bette Davis plays a famous mystery writer, Janet Frobisher. Her next door neighbor happens to be the local vet who gives her a lift home on a dark auspicious night. She claims her phone lines were down and she walked all the way the abandoned train station to use the phone there for "business". The good vet gives her a ride home talking about the difficulty of figuring out the plots of the thrillers she has turned him on to.
When she arrives home she is set upon by a stranger. A stranger who apparently was in on a bank job gone wrong with her husband. She had left her husband three years ago, he was a blackmailer and all around nasty guy. This stranger was supposed to meet up with him there....only...
"I decided that was the last time he'd ever hit me. I brought him his drink and I put something in it."-Janet.
Her plan was to weight his body down with stones into the deep lake behind the stables.
Since no one has seen the husband the stranger decides that he can pretend to be her husband! This is how he becomes "George Preston", her real, not pen name.
"It's wonderful what new clothes do to you!"-George Bates
Then her secretary, Chris, shows up with her fiancé Larry...who has been lover to both Chris and Janet! This really throws a wrench into things, now that Janet's "husband" is back.
"Mrs. Preston, from now on I'm giving the orders in this house."-Janet
This was a great film noir. Two people who need each other but don't like one another...with a sneaky lover and secretary all under the roof of one large country home. Bette Davis' Janet is no weeping willow!
When she arrives home she is set upon by a stranger. A stranger who apparently was in on a bank job gone wrong with her husband. She had left her husband three years ago, he was a blackmailer and all around nasty guy. This stranger was supposed to meet up with him there....only...
"I decided that was the last time he'd ever hit me. I brought him his drink and I put something in it."-Janet.
Her plan was to weight his body down with stones into the deep lake behind the stables.
Since no one has seen the husband the stranger decides that he can pretend to be her husband! This is how he becomes "George Preston", her real, not pen name.
"It's wonderful what new clothes do to you!"-George Bates
Then her secretary, Chris, shows up with her fiancé Larry...who has been lover to both Chris and Janet! This really throws a wrench into things, now that Janet's "husband" is back.
"Mrs. Preston, from now on I'm giving the orders in this house."-Janet
This was a great film noir. Two people who need each other but don't like one another...with a sneaky lover and secretary all under the roof of one large country home. Bette Davis' Janet is no weeping willow!
The Two Stars Overshadow The Story
dougdoepke4 March 2018
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.
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.
Superb acting, direction, photography in little known film noir masterpiece
adrianovasconcelos7 September 2021
To my great embarrassment, I knew nothing about Director Irving Rapper until I watched ANOTHER MAN'S POISON - and what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be! Since watching, I have learned that Rapper lived to the age of 101 and was a particularly gifted dialogue director.
In this film he gets superior assistance from Robert Krasker behind the camera - superlative photography, especially with the evocative bursts of rain and the brooding atmosphere surrounding the house - and from Bette Davis and Gary Merrill, who had just come from featuring together in ALL ABOUT EVE, the year before, and show continued excellent form. Emlyn Williams as Dr. Henderson, Anthony Steel as Davis' young lover, and the rest of the British supporting cast are also top notch.
While direction, acting and photography deserve the highest plaudits, the single most impressive aspect was the screenplay by Val Guest off the play by Leslie Sands. Not only does it successfully skate over the thin ice of credibility and keep you riveted with many twists and turns, with the two leading characters selfishly pursuing their own interests to the point of killing man and beast, there is a Romeo and Juliet kind of ending that works extremely well, and posts more than a nuance of dark and ironic humor. Davis laughing wildly at her own demise offers a truly unforgettable sequence.
Recommended viewing. 9/10.
In this film he gets superior assistance from Robert Krasker behind the camera - superlative photography, especially with the evocative bursts of rain and the brooding atmosphere surrounding the house - and from Bette Davis and Gary Merrill, who had just come from featuring together in ALL ABOUT EVE, the year before, and show continued excellent form. Emlyn Williams as Dr. Henderson, Anthony Steel as Davis' young lover, and the rest of the British supporting cast are also top notch.
While direction, acting and photography deserve the highest plaudits, the single most impressive aspect was the screenplay by Val Guest off the play by Leslie Sands. Not only does it successfully skate over the thin ice of credibility and keep you riveted with many twists and turns, with the two leading characters selfishly pursuing their own interests to the point of killing man and beast, there is a Romeo and Juliet kind of ending that works extremely well, and posts more than a nuance of dark and ironic humor. Davis laughing wildly at her own demise offers a truly unforgettable sequence.
Recommended viewing. 9/10.
A quite weekend in the country?
sol12182 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
(There are spoilers) Breaking into the mansion of famous mystery writer Janet Frobisher, Bette Davis,for a prearranged meeting with her husband Preston bank robber George Bates, Garry Merrill, is shocked to find out that his partner in crime had been murdered by his estranged wife. Janet who's been having an affair with her secretary Chris', Barbara Murry, boyfriend Larry, Anthony Steel, had been surprised to find her old man, Preston, getting into the mix by using her home as a safe house to later, when the heats off, take off on a steam ship out of the country with his fellow bank robber Bates. Janet gave the fugitive a drink laced with a strong sedative that was prescribed by local veterinarian Dr. Hnderson, Emlyn Williams, for her horse Fury that put Preston to sleep forever.
With one of the bank guards shot and seriously wounded during the robbery by Preston Bates want's to save his neck from the hangman's rope, if the guard dies and he's caught by the police, to have Preston admit he was the one who shot him and even has Preston's gun and the fingerprints that go along with it to prove it. Bates efforts are now all moot since he's, Preston, no longer around to face justice.
We now have this very complicated scenario in the film where Bates, after he and Janet deep six Preston's body in a nearby lake, impersonates Preston as his now wife Janet secretly connives to also murder him in order to keep Bates from implicating her in her husbands murder. It's never really explained why Janet murdered Preston in the first place all we know is that she did the guy in just because he may have gotten in the way of her affair with Larry but why kill the man since he was separated from Janet for some three years and couldn't care less if she was having a love affair with Larry or anyone else? All Preston wanted was to get away from the police and check out of the country.
For all her smarts Janet is outsmarted by Bates, who's on to her back-stabbing tactics, at almost every turn with him surviving a near-fatal car crash, that she secretly arraigned for him, and then for some reason not at all fully explained, in fact as Bates' was about to tell her just before he suddenly fell ill from a poisoned drink that Janet gave him, why he killed her prized horse Fury. Bates claiming that the horse broke it's leg, a bald face lie on Bates' part, and that he was forced to shoot it gets Janet to lose her composure and almost spill the beans on herself to who really Bates' is and why he's impersonating her husband, because she murdered him and got rid of the body.
While all this is going on both Larry and Chris drop in at the Frobisher Estate for a stay over the weekend which makes things even more confusing with Larry finding out that his secret love, Janet, is now back with her husband! At the same time Chris begins to realize that he's, Larry, dropping her for not only her boss, Janet, but for a much older, Janet is 43 and Chris is 22, woman to boot!
The big break in the case comes from non other then the friendly and somewhat overbearing Dr. Hernderson who it later turns out knows a lot more about both Bates and Preston that he's been letting on, which is total ignorance, and is himself playing some kind of mind game, like a junior Sherlock Holmes, on his own to trap both Janet and Bates and bring the two scoundrels to justice. Dr. Henderson is beaten to the punch by both Janet & Bates at the end of the movie by the two playing an even bigger, and deadlier, game or trick on each other.
Not one of Bette Davis' better films but her interaction with Garry Merrill, her husband at the time, is really worth watching as the two try to one-up each other in trying to pull off the perfect crime at the others expense with both ending up on the losing side.
With one of the bank guards shot and seriously wounded during the robbery by Preston Bates want's to save his neck from the hangman's rope, if the guard dies and he's caught by the police, to have Preston admit he was the one who shot him and even has Preston's gun and the fingerprints that go along with it to prove it. Bates efforts are now all moot since he's, Preston, no longer around to face justice.
We now have this very complicated scenario in the film where Bates, after he and Janet deep six Preston's body in a nearby lake, impersonates Preston as his now wife Janet secretly connives to also murder him in order to keep Bates from implicating her in her husbands murder. It's never really explained why Janet murdered Preston in the first place all we know is that she did the guy in just because he may have gotten in the way of her affair with Larry but why kill the man since he was separated from Janet for some three years and couldn't care less if she was having a love affair with Larry or anyone else? All Preston wanted was to get away from the police and check out of the country.
For all her smarts Janet is outsmarted by Bates, who's on to her back-stabbing tactics, at almost every turn with him surviving a near-fatal car crash, that she secretly arraigned for him, and then for some reason not at all fully explained, in fact as Bates' was about to tell her just before he suddenly fell ill from a poisoned drink that Janet gave him, why he killed her prized horse Fury. Bates claiming that the horse broke it's leg, a bald face lie on Bates' part, and that he was forced to shoot it gets Janet to lose her composure and almost spill the beans on herself to who really Bates' is and why he's impersonating her husband, because she murdered him and got rid of the body.
While all this is going on both Larry and Chris drop in at the Frobisher Estate for a stay over the weekend which makes things even more confusing with Larry finding out that his secret love, Janet, is now back with her husband! At the same time Chris begins to realize that he's, Larry, dropping her for not only her boss, Janet, but for a much older, Janet is 43 and Chris is 22, woman to boot!
The big break in the case comes from non other then the friendly and somewhat overbearing Dr. Hernderson who it later turns out knows a lot more about both Bates and Preston that he's been letting on, which is total ignorance, and is himself playing some kind of mind game, like a junior Sherlock Holmes, on his own to trap both Janet and Bates and bring the two scoundrels to justice. Dr. Henderson is beaten to the punch by both Janet & Bates at the end of the movie by the two playing an even bigger, and deadlier, game or trick on each other.
Not one of Bette Davis' better films but her interaction with Garry Merrill, her husband at the time, is really worth watching as the two try to one-up each other in trying to pull off the perfect crime at the others expense with both ending up on the losing side.
Murder she wrote, and murder she did!
mark.waltz15 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The cleverness of a best-selling mystery writer gets her to see if she can get away with murder, but you know it's going to catch up with her. Bette Davis is the calculating American author, living in seclusion on the Moors and determined to let no man get in her way. It's very apparent that she loves her prized horse Fury more than any other man.
The visit by a stranger (Gary Merrill) exposes at least one of her crimes as he is there to find her estranged husband whom she calmly tells him is lying in the other room....dead. Certain he will end up being made an accessory, Merrill arranges to get rid of the body for her, but when the local veterinarian (Emlyn Williams) keeps stopping by, Davis and Merrill pretend (reluctantly on Davis's part) to be husband and wife. The doctor had made a compound for the ailing Fury which taken in large doses can be fatal, and Davis pretends she used it all up, hanging on to it just in case she needs it again. She's in love with her secretary's fiancée, and even though it is apparent that she's obviously a decade older than him (at least), has managed to seduce him. As the game between Davis and Merrill gets more dangerous, each of them uses a one-upmanship on the other, but it is very apparent that nobody will be the winner in this deliciously wicked game.
While Davis referred to herself as a character actress who happened to play leads, she hadn't really begun to play character parts at this point even though she was past the age where most leading players turn to character or supporting parts. She still has the Margo Channing/Tallulah hairstyle, and is even a bit portly, but it is obvious that she is still using her sexual wiles to keep the men in her life under her thumb. Like a female spider, she uses those desires to lure men to their doom, and even with much subtlety in her performance, it is obvious to the audience that she is quite deadly. Only on a few occasions does she allow those typically famous Bette Davis theatrics to take over her performance. She has met her devious match, however, in Merrill, and intellectual match in Williams. It's surprising that the writers did not have any of the characters playing chess together, because the plot is exactly like that, and when certain characters get "checked", you know that it will take only one move for them to get "mated".
While certainly a fascinating melodrama (and Davis is always fascinating even in the most outlandish of stories), this suffers from too many implausibilities and even some tediously slow moving dialog scenes to be totally successful. But once it does get off the ground, it really becomes mesmerizing, and like a bad car accident, it is difficult to turn away from it. Davis's final moments on screen are fraught with tension as it becomes more and more obvious that her sins have obviously driven her mad. After having been so noble as her lover in "All About Eve", it's nice to see Merrill step up to the plate to toss her a curve ball. Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray's characters are nowhere nearly as interesting as Davis, Merrill and Williams', and as a result come off as rather bland.
The visit by a stranger (Gary Merrill) exposes at least one of her crimes as he is there to find her estranged husband whom she calmly tells him is lying in the other room....dead. Certain he will end up being made an accessory, Merrill arranges to get rid of the body for her, but when the local veterinarian (Emlyn Williams) keeps stopping by, Davis and Merrill pretend (reluctantly on Davis's part) to be husband and wife. The doctor had made a compound for the ailing Fury which taken in large doses can be fatal, and Davis pretends she used it all up, hanging on to it just in case she needs it again. She's in love with her secretary's fiancée, and even though it is apparent that she's obviously a decade older than him (at least), has managed to seduce him. As the game between Davis and Merrill gets more dangerous, each of them uses a one-upmanship on the other, but it is very apparent that nobody will be the winner in this deliciously wicked game.
While Davis referred to herself as a character actress who happened to play leads, she hadn't really begun to play character parts at this point even though she was past the age where most leading players turn to character or supporting parts. She still has the Margo Channing/Tallulah hairstyle, and is even a bit portly, but it is obvious that she is still using her sexual wiles to keep the men in her life under her thumb. Like a female spider, she uses those desires to lure men to their doom, and even with much subtlety in her performance, it is obvious to the audience that she is quite deadly. Only on a few occasions does she allow those typically famous Bette Davis theatrics to take over her performance. She has met her devious match, however, in Merrill, and intellectual match in Williams. It's surprising that the writers did not have any of the characters playing chess together, because the plot is exactly like that, and when certain characters get "checked", you know that it will take only one move for them to get "mated".
While certainly a fascinating melodrama (and Davis is always fascinating even in the most outlandish of stories), this suffers from too many implausibilities and even some tediously slow moving dialog scenes to be totally successful. But once it does get off the ground, it really becomes mesmerizing, and like a bad car accident, it is difficult to turn away from it. Davis's final moments on screen are fraught with tension as it becomes more and more obvious that her sins have obviously driven her mad. After having been so noble as her lover in "All About Eve", it's nice to see Merrill step up to the plate to toss her a curve ball. Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray's characters are nowhere nearly as interesting as Davis, Merrill and Williams', and as a result come off as rather bland.
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