A Woman's Devotion (1956)

A decorated WWII veteran (Ralph Meeker), now a rather well known painter, and his his new wife (Janice Rule) are honeymooning in Acapulco. But the vet is suffering from what we now call PTS disorder and has bouts of amnesia. When two local women turn up murdered, the local head of police (Paul Henreid, who also directed) believes the artist is responsible. The film's title suggests a movie romance but, in fact, this is a psychological thriller. The dialog is often clunky but Meeker and Rule (who had starred in PICNIC on Broadway 3 years earlier) are good enough actors to smooth over the bumps. No so for Henreid as the Mexican police officer who doesn't even bother to hide his Austrian accent. He's the only non Mexican playing a Mexican and perhaps he should have cast another actor in the part. The film benefits enormously from the beautiful Acapulco locations handsomely lensed in Trucolor by Jorge Stahl Jr. (GARDEN OF EVIL). The most interesting aspect of the film is that the policeman is interested in the wife so one can't help but wonder if he's persecuting the husband out of jealousy. The score is by Les Baxter. With Jose Torvay and Rosenda Monteros (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN).