Never allowing tradesmen into your home other than by recommendation appears to make perfect sense. Society in 1918 was more rustic, trusting and honorable. A world on the brink of modernity with the roaring '20's beckoning. Optimistic, but bearing the scars of The Great War.
Having lost her husband in the conflict, Ida Lupino personifies this mood. She has no qualms over hiring Robert Ryan as a handyman, blissfully unaware that he has rapidly distanced himself from a previous traumatic experience. Initially, 'Beware My Lovely' settles into a bland, comfortable groove. The dog is the first to discover that Ryan might just be two sandwiches short of a picnic. Steadily, his darker, more unstable side begins to appear. Lupino's niece (Barbara Whiting) fans the flames nicely by peppering him with a bag of potato crisps (No don't ask which flavour!) for his reticence to engage in a conversation.
The movie develops into an exploration of the alarming effect of being confined in one's home with an individual who is disturbed, unpredictable and potentially violent. A situation intensified by Lupino's obvious pride in home comforts.
The events occur just as the festive season launches into overdrive, not that B.M.L. could be regarded as a Christmas film. Don't expect it to appear on a double bill of festive family fun with Home Alone any time soon! Sporadically, Lupino has encounters with excited, expectant children which only serve to amplify her own harrowing plight.
Ryan and Lupino appeared together in the powerful On Dangerous Ground. Here they are different characters in a different setting and period, but similar themes of loss, loneliness, fear and isolation are evident.
Not a classic psycho-noir, but one which draws memorable performances from its two main stars.
Having lost her husband in the conflict, Ida Lupino personifies this mood. She has no qualms over hiring Robert Ryan as a handyman, blissfully unaware that he has rapidly distanced himself from a previous traumatic experience. Initially, 'Beware My Lovely' settles into a bland, comfortable groove. The dog is the first to discover that Ryan might just be two sandwiches short of a picnic. Steadily, his darker, more unstable side begins to appear. Lupino's niece (Barbara Whiting) fans the flames nicely by peppering him with a bag of potato crisps (No don't ask which flavour!) for his reticence to engage in a conversation.
The movie develops into an exploration of the alarming effect of being confined in one's home with an individual who is disturbed, unpredictable and potentially violent. A situation intensified by Lupino's obvious pride in home comforts.
The events occur just as the festive season launches into overdrive, not that B.M.L. could be regarded as a Christmas film. Don't expect it to appear on a double bill of festive family fun with Home Alone any time soon! Sporadically, Lupino has encounters with excited, expectant children which only serve to amplify her own harrowing plight.
Ryan and Lupino appeared together in the powerful On Dangerous Ground. Here they are different characters in a different setting and period, but similar themes of loss, loneliness, fear and isolation are evident.
Not a classic psycho-noir, but one which draws memorable performances from its two main stars.