A Psychological Thriller of Obsession and Betrayal: The Second Woman (1951)

The Second Woman is a psychological thriller film directed by James V. Monaco and released in 1951. The movie is set in a remote seaside town in California, where a young and beautiful widow named Ellen Foster (played by Betsy Drake) arrives to settle down and start a new life. She takes over a boarding house and quickly becomes the object of desire for many of the male residents, including the arrogant and wealthy local businessman Jeff Cohalan (played by Robert Young).Show more

Jeff, who is already engaged to the daughter of a wealthy tycoon, becomes obsessed with Ellen and begins a relentless pursuit of her. However, Ellen is not interested in Jeff and rebuffs his advances, which only fuels his obsession and anger towards her. As tensions escalate, strange occurrences start happening around Ellen, such as anonymous threatening phone calls and objects being moved or broken in her room.

Ellen becomes increasingly frightened and paranoid, and starts to suspect that someone is trying to harm her. Meanwhile, Jeff becomes increasingly unhinged and aggressive in his pursuit of Ellen, even resorting to violence to try to win her over. As the suspense builds, the audience is left to wonder who is behind the sinister acts and whether Ellen will be able to escape Jeff's dangerous obsession.

The Second Woman is a classic example of film noir, with its dark and brooding atmosphere, intense psychological drama, and themes of obsession and betrayal. The movie also features strong performances by the lead actors, particularly Betsy Drake and Robert Young, who bring depth and nuance to their complex characters. Overall, The Second Woman is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats until the very end.

Cast:

Betsy Drake as Ellen Foster
Robert Young as Jeff Cohalan
John Sutton as Dr. Franklyn
Florence Bates as Mrs. Murdock
Morris Ankrum as Tom, the Police Chief
Henry O'Neill as Mr. Waterbury
Louise Lorimer as Mrs. Waterbury
Jeff Donnell as Pat, Ellen's friend

The Second Woman is a 1950 film noir mystery-suspense film directed by James V. Kern and featuring Robert Young, Betsy Drake, John Sutton and Florence Bates.[1] Sequences of the film were shot on the coastal areas of Monterey, California.
Plot

This psychological thriller tells the story of Jeff Cohalan (Robert Young). He is a successful architect who is tormented because his fiancée, Vivian Sheppard, was killed in a mysterious car accident on the night before their wedding. Blaming himself for her death, Cohalan spends his time alone, lamenting in the state-of-the-art cliff-top home he had designed for his bride-to-be.

Cohalan notices that ever since the accident, he seems to be followed by bad luck. Without explanation, his horse turns up horribly injured and he must put it down, his dog is poisoned and dies. These events lead Cohalan to wonder if he has been cursed.

He meets a woman named Ellen Foster (Betsy Drake), and they are immediately attracted to each other. She is quite the detective, and soon learns about Jeff's past and begins to suspect that he may be much more in danger than he himself realizes.

It turns out that his partner in architecture, Ben Sheppard, was trying to destroy him. Ben Sheppard, who was Vivian's father, held Jeff responsible for her death. But the driver of the car had been a married man, Keith Ferris (John Sutton), with whom Vivian was having an affair. Ben himself had a wife, Vivian's mother, run away from him, and now has a psychotic break when confronted with the truth behind his daughter's car crash. Thinking Ellen is Vivian, and angry about his wife running off, Ben shoots at Ellen. Jeff gets hit protecting Ellen, but both survive.
Cast

Robert Young as Jeff Cohalan
Betsy Drake as Ellen Foster
John Sutton as Keith Ferris
Florence Bates as Amelia Foster
Morris Carnovsky as Dr. Raymond Hartley
Henry O'Neill as Ben Sheppard
Jean Rogers as Dodo Ferris
Raymond Largay as Major Badger
Shirley Ballard as Vivian Sheppard
Vici Raaf as Sue - Secretary
Jason Robards, Sr. as Stacy Rogers (as Jason Robards)
Steven Geray as Balthazar Jones
Jimmie Dodd as Mr. Nelson (as Jimmy Dodd)
Smoki Whitfield as Elmer - Porter (as Smokey Whitfield)
Cliff Clark as Police Sergeant

Reception
Critical response

Film critic Craig Butler wrote: "The Second Woman is an intriguing if frustrating little thriller -- frustrating because it verges on being very good but settles for being merely OK. Part of the problem is that Woman combines elements of various styles -- film noir, psychological drama, mystery, thriller, romance -- but doesn't meld them into a satisfying whole ... All in all, The Second Woman is a good attempt that is worth watching, even if it falls short of reaching its goals."[2]

Film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote: "Robert Young gives a subdued performance that is somewhat credible, but not all that endearing. The film's ultimate villain is the real estate industry that is spoiling the natural beauty in its need to make lots of money. But the brooding melodrama, thought of by many as film noir, never seemed vibrant as a thriller."[3]
See also

List of films in the public domain in the United States

References

The Second Woman at the American Film Institute Catalog.
Butler, Craig. Allmovie by Rovi, film review, no date. Accessed: August 19, 2013.

Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, October 3, 2004. Accessed: August 19, 2013.

External links

The Second Woman at the American Film Institute Catalog
The Second Woman at IMDb
The Second Woman at AllMovie
The Second Woman at the TCM Movie Database
The Second Woman at Rotten Tomatoes Edit this at Wikidata
The Second Woman is available for free download at the Internet Archive
The Second Woman information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images)

Categories:

1950 films1950 drama filmsAmerican drama filmsAmerican black-and-white filmsFilm noirFilms directed by James V. KernUnited Artists films1950s English-language films1950s American films

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Woman_(1950_film)