The Second Woman (1950)

Set in the Big Sur coastline of California, a young woman (Betsy Drake) falls in love with an architect (Robert Young) whose fiancee (Shirley Ballard) died in a car crash a year ago. However, his mysterious behavior suggests that he might be suffering from paranoia as a series of destructive acts and bad luck in his life suggests that he might actually be the perpetrator of these actions. Directed by James V. Kern, this atmospheric noir-ish mystery is very Hitchcockian in its narrative. A touch of REBECCA, a little bit of SUSPICION, a drop of SPELLBOUND etc. But its execution is so very good that one doesn't mind the derivation. It's a minor thriller to be sure and Kern's name isn't exactly a well known moniker among film auteurs but the direction is solid and Young is very good playing against type. In a way, it's a pastiche of a movie and seems on the verge of being something very special but ends up being better than average. I don't want to oversell it but fans of noir and moody thrillers might want to check it out. With Florence Bates, John Sutton, Morris Carnovsky, Steven Geray, Jean Rogers and Henry O'Neill.