Strange Love Of Martha Ivers (1946)

A grifter and gambler (Van Heflin) has an auto accident near the small town he grew up in. When he looks up an old friend (Kirk Douglas in his film debut), now a District Attorney married to the town's richest woman (Barbara Stanwyck), they suspect he returned to town for a specific reason ..... blackmail. Based on a short story by John Patrick and adapted for the screen by Robert Rossen (ALL THE KING'S MEN). As directed by Lewis Milestone, this is a nice slice of film noir that is marred by an excessive amount of time wasted on the uninteresting relationship between Heflin and Lizabeth Scott's character. It doesn't help that Scott gives an awful performance. Fortunately the trio of Stanwyck, Heflin and Douglas (in one of his rare weakling roles) give first rate performances. If the film's ending is slightly reminiscent of DOUBLE INDEMNITY, it can be excused. After all, it's Stanwyck in the female lead again as Miklos Rozsa's underscore pounds away in the background so the deja vu can't be helped. With Judith Anderson, Darryl Hickman, Janis Wilson and Ann Doran.