The Reckless Moment

12/29/19491h 22m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ It could happen to so many married women! ~

Overview:

After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.

Director:

Max Ophüls

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

parent child relationship
femme fatale
film noir
ironic

Cast

James Mason

~ as ~

Martin Donnelly

Joan Bennett

~ as ~

Lucia Harper

Geraldine Brooks

~ as ~

Bea Harper

Henry O'Neill

~ as ~

Tom Harper

Shepperd Strudwick

~ as ~

Ted Darby

David Bair

~ as ~

David Harper

Roy Roberts

~ as ~

Nagel

Jessie Arnold

~ as ~

Old Lady (uncredited)

Al Bain

~ as ~

Man (uncredited)

Jack Baker

~ as ~

Man (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
What is it about folks in movies who find dead bodies? Rather than just call the police and rely on them to adequately do their jobs, they always find themselves embroiled in silly, self-inflicted plots that almost always cause far more trouble... Here is another such example. Joan Bennett is "Lucia", a rather bored housewife whose husband is always away, and whose young daughter "Bea" (Geraldine Brooks) is having a fling with the rather roguish "Ted" (Shepperd Strudwick). Her mother tries to put a stop to the relationship, be he wants paying off - she tells him to get lost. Next day, he confronts poor old "Bea" with the truth, a tussle ensues and soon "Ted" is down with the fishes, the daughter having tried to cover her tracks. Police find the corpse, and enter James Mason ("Donnelly") and his even more unscrupulous partner "Nagel" (Roy Roberts) who have some incriminating letters and want $5,000 to keep them from the investigation. Mother, determined to save her irresponsible child, tries to accommodate the blackmailer and over time their dynamic changes somewhat... It's quite a quirky story with two good performances - Mason, quite understated and Bennett measured - even when under quite a bit of pressure, and the direction from Max Opuls keeps the pace well. Sadly, he struggles to see it off the rocks of melodrama as we near the end, but even that is a bit different.