(Nicholas Ray, US 1950, 94 min., 35mm)
Joan Fontaine’s early roles as a quiet observer in Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Suspicion belied a cool strength below and yet she used this presumptive attitude to play against as double-dealing schemers and murderers in her films just a decade later. Here she plays Christable Caine, a scheming, ambitious social-climber balancing the affections of both the wealthy Curtis Carey (Zachary Scott) and aspiring novelist Nick Bradley (Robert Ryan). Playing the two off each other, Christabel plans to have everything: status, wealth, love, and her freedom. The cast includes Mel Ferrer and Joan Leslie, who can also be seen in The Hard Way.
Introduction by and post-screening discussion with author Julie Grossman.
35mm preservation from the George Eastman Museum collection.