(1941, b/w) "If you're going to kill somebody, do it simply." Director Alfred Hitchcock's movie, adapted from Francis Iles's novel, Before the Fact, begins as a romantic comedy (with an annoying soundtrack) that's not going to end funny.

By coincidence after their acquaintanceship in a first-class compartment on a train (for which the gent had a third-class ticket), puckish playboy Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) again meets Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine, who received an Oscar for Best Actress), a naïve, properly bred, spinsterish young lady, who's soon smitten by the charming cad, eloping with him when her father, a retired general, disapproves.

After a honeymoon through Europe (on borrowed money), the married couple returns to England where Lina discovers that Johnnie's dependent on his wits and the generosity of others: "Monkeyface, I've been broke all my life." Johnnie's chum Gordon "Beaky" Thwaite (Nigel Bruce), a "silly, generous, good-heart fool," pays a visit, letting on to Lina of Johnnie's being the inventor of "howling lies" and the unlucky possessor of gambling debts.

It's hard to say what they live on, especially after Lina learns that Johnnie had been discharged six weeks earlier from a job with Capt Melbeck (Leo G. Carroll) after embezzling £2,000. Just as she's about to leave Johnnie, her father dies, leaving through his will only his portrait to the couple. She tells Johnnie: "I couldn't stop loving you if I tried."

When Johnnie ("the secret of success is to start at the top") plans a real-estate development with Beaky's money backing the deal, he speaks sharply to Lina about her interference. Contradictory incidents make Johnnie, a fan of Isobel Sedbusk's detective mysteries, appear to be a "doubtful murderer" when the police inspector delivers news of Beaky's strange death in Paris.

Surreptitiously reading a letter to Johnnie from an assurance company, stating that payment may only be granted upon the wife's death, and seeing a glowing glass of milk brought to her bedside, Lina is fearful of being alone with her husband.

The most surprising thing about this film is how disappointing all of this turns out.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2009 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Patrick Ivers can be reached via e-mail at .