Ruby Gentry (1952)

A small town North Carolina girl (Jennifer Jones) from the wrong side of the tracks isn't accepted socially by the snobbish small minded town. But when the opportunity arises to marry up socially to a rich widower (Karl Malden), she grabs it. But her money won't buy her what she really wants ..... the man (Charlton Heston) that got away. But money can buy her revenge. This overheated lurid swamp melodrama reunites Jennifer Jones with her DUEL IN THE SUN director King Vidor. While it doesn't reach the insane and delirious heights of that trash masterpiece, this more modest B&W effort is entertaining enough. Curiously the film wants us to condemn Jones's Ruby for her wrathful path of destruction but I don't know. If I were in her shoes, I'd probably have done the same and not looked back. Why should she forgive those mean spirited snobs, after all they never gave her a break. Who was it who said, "Revenge is a dish best served cold"? The underscore is by Heinz Roemheld whose theme for Ruby (with added lyrics) later became a standard and a popular hit for Ray Charles. With Josephine Hutchinson, Tom Tully, James Anderson, Phyllis Avery and Barney Phillips.