Cast A Dark Shadow (1955)

A man (Dirk Bogarde) murders his much older wife (Mona Washbourne) when he believes she's cutting him out of her will when in actuality, she was planning a new will leaving him all her money and cutting out her sister. Left penniless, he marries a coarse older widow (Margaret Lockwood) with money but she's a match for him. Based on the play MURDER MISTAKEN by Janet Green (MIDNIGHT LACE) and directed by Lewis Gilbert (ALFIE). This is a nifty little thriller with a perfectly cast Bogarde just oozing malevolence. But the film belongs to Lockwood, known for playing ladylike parts, who's cast against type here. Her performance got her a BAFTA nomination for best actress but the movie was a flop and she wouldn't do another film until 21 years later. Lewis Gilbert keeps the intensity tight but the film's finale is sloppy. The film portrays Bogarde as a crafty wife killer but at the end, he makes a really stupid mistake that no one as clever as he would ever make. With Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison, Robert Flemyng and Lita Roza.