They Won't Believe Me
Encyclopedia
They Won't Believe Me is a 1947 drama film starring Susan Hayward
. The black-and-white
film noir
was directed by Irving Pichel
. The film was produced by Alfred Hitchcock
's longtime assistant and collaborator, Joan Harrison.
When he seems finally to have made the break with a woman he loves (Hayward), a freak car accident leaves him alone but in a position to plot for his wife's money without the wife. If we are to take such a man at his word, he is innocent of murder but, in a final interview with his now reconciled first lover (Greer), finally confronting his worth. Back in court, and before the jury's verdict is delivered, Ballentine takes his life in his own hands.
's gritty Double Indemnity."
Ted Shen, reviewing the film for the Chicago Reader, also compares the film to Cain's writing and praises the acting, and wrote, "Cast against type, Young manages to be both creepy and sympathetic. Actor-turned-director Irving Pichel gets hard-boiled performances from a solid cast."
Critic Steve Press wrote, "The flashback structure of this suspenseful film noir effectively creates a foreboding tension that mounts to a powerful final scene."
Susan Hayward
Susan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 when open auditions were held for the leading role in Gone with the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
. The black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
was directed by Irving Pichel
Irving Pichel
Irving Pichel was an American actor and film director. He married Violette Wilson, daughter of Jackson Stitt Wilson, a Methodist minister and Socialist mayor of Berkeley, California. Her sister was actress Viola Barry...
. The film was produced by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's longtime assistant and collaborator, Joan Harrison.
Plot
The film tells the story of a man's relationships with three women, leading to an ironic murder charge. As the film begins the accused man, Larry Ballentine (Young) stands trial for the killing of his lover (Hayward). He tells his story in flashback; revealing himself as a duplicitous husband whose marriage for money nonetheless overrules the substantial relationships he builds with other women.When he seems finally to have made the break with a woman he loves (Hayward), a freak car accident leaves him alone but in a position to plot for his wife's money without the wife. If we are to take such a man at his word, he is innocent of murder but, in a final interview with his now reconciled first lover (Greer), finally confronting his worth. Back in court, and before the jury's verdict is delivered, Ballentine takes his life in his own hands.
Cast
- Susan HaywardSusan HaywardSusan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 when open auditions were held for the leading role in Gone with the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
as Verna Carlson - Robert YoungRobert Young (actor)Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
as Larry Ballentine - Jane GreerJane GreerJane Greer was a film and television actress who was perhaps best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past.-Career:...
as Janice Bell - Rita JohnsonRita JohnsonRita Johnson was an American actress.-Career:She was born Rita McSean in Worcester, Massachusetts and attended the New England Conservatory of Music. Johnson began acting on Broadway in 1935 and started her film career two years later. She played a murderess in Here Comes Mr...
as Greta Ballentine - Tom PowersTom PowersTom Powers was an American stage and film actor. He was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA and died in Hollywood, California, of heart disease.- Career :...
as Trenton - George Tyne as Lieutenant Carr
- Don BeddoeDon Beddoe-Career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe made his Broadway acting debut in 1929, receiving top billing in Nigger Rich....
as Thomason - Frank FergusonFrank FergusonFrank Ferguson was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Perhaps his best known role was as the ranch handyman, Gus Broeberg, on the CBS television series, My Friend Flicka, based on a novel of the same name...
as Mr. Cahill, Defense Attorney - Harry Harvey as Judge Charles Fletcher
Critical reaction
Dennis Schwartz, in a 2003 review of the film, called the film, "An outstanding film noir melodrama whose adultery tale is much in the same nature as a Hitchcock mystery or James M. CainJames M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
's gritty Double Indemnity."
Ted Shen, reviewing the film for the Chicago Reader, also compares the film to Cain's writing and praises the acting, and wrote, "Cast against type, Young manages to be both creepy and sympathetic. Actor-turned-director Irving Pichel gets hard-boiled performances from a solid cast."
Critic Steve Press wrote, "The flashback structure of this suspenseful film noir effectively creates a foreboding tension that mounts to a powerful final scene."