George Sanders hardly has the psychic space for a girlfriend in this melodrama. He lives with his sisters, Hester and Lettie (Moyna MacGill) and Geraldine Fitzgerald). When Debbie (Ella Raines) comes into the picture, the pot boils. Why? Because it seems that Lettie wants to keep Harry (Sanders) for herself. Harry meets Deborah, a buyer who visits his clothing design firm. Later, Harry comes home, and looks in on Lettie.
At dinner, it's obvious that both Lettie and the housekeeper fuss over Harry; Hester takes his side, but has a ax to grind with her sister. He announces that he's going out--to show Deborah the town. Their big date is a women's softball game. Strangely, she goes off with another guy and his daughter, dragging Harry along. Deborah's smooth, from the city; this is small town New England. He seems older and stodgy compared to her. He has a makeshift observatory in an old shed.
She's nervy enough to spontaneously mess with one of his paintings. Now it's Hester who's getting nosy--spying from the house. They invite her to tea the next day. For some reason Lettie mentions poison. The big news is that Deborah is staying in town, and will be working on-site more or less with Harry. There's a more or less lecture from both sisters: "people talk" about outsiders, loose women is what they might really mean. Deborah's response is that Harry has a standing invitation to her hotel.
There's some apparent foreshadowing, as Harry digs a grave for their just dead dog. One fly in the ointment is John (Craig Reynolds); he was the guy at the ballgame, and the one who plans to take Deborah to Europe. That makes Harry jealous enough that he puts a move on her at the office. I guess that's all she needed, as soon they're engaged. But, of course, the sisters make it impossible to move out and give the couple the house. He tells Deborah that as soon as he goes back there he's suddenly "in an old groove." Lettie's groove that is; at any rate, six months goes by and no change, no wedding.
He finds a vial of poison in a desk there. Lettie comes calling on Deborah. She talks about the house-hunting, and quickly segues into asking the bride to be to live in their guest room! Then she out and out tells her they should postpone the wedding. "Didn't you ever expect Harry to get married?" "No". Well, that's clear enough. She gets in Deborah's face even uglier. The consequence of that is: to go to the city right after the marriage and live at her place there. I bet he doesn't follow up. Lettie has an 'attack'; with superb timing, little sister plays her trump card. Sure enough, after a bitter argument, Deborah gives up, and stomps off.
But--look! It's worse than that. She marries John. Sure enough, in the next scene, he's back at the house; Lettie acts like he had "an affair." Hester blows up, telling both of them that Lettie has done what we already know--sabotage Harry completely. Left alone downstairs, he messes with the poison. He goes to the local club that night; the pharmacist unwittingly let's him know that the poison Lettie bought acts immediately and painlessly (that's what they gave to the old dog). If I were him, having lost big time with Deborah, I'd seek out that blond who keeps popping up.
Instead, Harry has a cunning plan. Back at the shed, Lettie 'apologizes' for wrecking his engagement. Hey, Harry, what about that bedtime cup of cocoa? With all this build-up I almost expect all of them to drink the doggy-death stuff. "My it's sweet!," says Lettie. What's not so cool is that he gets distracted; Lettie just sips the cocoa, and gives it to her sister. Plunk! One elder sister hits the deck. Harry killed the 'wrong' sister; Lettie knows the chocolate was intended for her. The interesting thing is: it's Lettie who bought the poison; it's Lettie who served the poison to her. Plus a litany of do-gooder busybody prying into Hester's life generally.
The perfect crime? Let's see what the verdict is. Winner! Lettie's found guilty. That's my reaction; more rationally, Harry is depressed. In effect, he's responsible for two deaths. All because he couldn't stand up to Lettie. So, he confesses. The problem is, no one believes him. It really looks like he's just trying to save her. Suppose she validates his confession? Let's see about that. It's the night before her planned execution. With the D.A. listening from a corridor, the brother and sister discuss what happened. This is amazing. She's going to take the blame, and be executed.
That way, she'll completely sabotage the rest of his life by letting him live with his guilt. Even in death, she controls him. Truly a gothic story of love and loss. But then, in a wave of redemption, Deborah shows up--not married after all--and still aching to marry him. The end. It's conventional wisdom that the very abrupt and very happy ending was needed to satisfy the production code. Probably so. It detracts from what nearly ends up being a dark tragedy which, like a fairy tale, turns out happily ever after. I could fathom the huge slice of luck that shields him from the law; but to get that and his dream bride is a stretch.
Nevertheless, The Strange Affair is engrossing from beginning to (almost) the end. Raines, especially, is great as the confident career woman who's nonetheless fairly conventional (that's as much a feature of the production code as the feel-good ending). Strangely, there's more scenes of Sanders with the Fitzgerald and MacGill than with Raines; that emphasizes the dynamics of the dysfunctional family. Even a little of the girlfriend/fiance is enough to disrupt doings at the old house.
The star-gazing is a great metaphor. Deborah looks beyond the small town; Harry once did, and wants to do so again. That he gets his wish doesn't really change the fact that he got away with murder.
At dinner, it's obvious that both Lettie and the housekeeper fuss over Harry; Hester takes his side, but has a ax to grind with her sister. He announces that he's going out--to show Deborah the town. Their big date is a women's softball game. Strangely, she goes off with another guy and his daughter, dragging Harry along. Deborah's smooth, from the city; this is small town New England. He seems older and stodgy compared to her. He has a makeshift observatory in an old shed.
She's nervy enough to spontaneously mess with one of his paintings. Now it's Hester who's getting nosy--spying from the house. They invite her to tea the next day. For some reason Lettie mentions poison. The big news is that Deborah is staying in town, and will be working on-site more or less with Harry. There's a more or less lecture from both sisters: "people talk" about outsiders, loose women is what they might really mean. Deborah's response is that Harry has a standing invitation to her hotel.
There's some apparent foreshadowing, as Harry digs a grave for their just dead dog. One fly in the ointment is John (Craig Reynolds); he was the guy at the ballgame, and the one who plans to take Deborah to Europe. That makes Harry jealous enough that he puts a move on her at the office. I guess that's all she needed, as soon they're engaged. But, of course, the sisters make it impossible to move out and give the couple the house. He tells Deborah that as soon as he goes back there he's suddenly "in an old groove." Lettie's groove that is; at any rate, six months goes by and no change, no wedding.
He finds a vial of poison in a desk there. Lettie comes calling on Deborah. She talks about the house-hunting, and quickly segues into asking the bride to be to live in their guest room! Then she out and out tells her they should postpone the wedding. "Didn't you ever expect Harry to get married?" "No". Well, that's clear enough. She gets in Deborah's face even uglier. The consequence of that is: to go to the city right after the marriage and live at her place there. I bet he doesn't follow up. Lettie has an 'attack'; with superb timing, little sister plays her trump card. Sure enough, after a bitter argument, Deborah gives up, and stomps off.
But--look! It's worse than that. She marries John. Sure enough, in the next scene, he's back at the house; Lettie acts like he had "an affair." Hester blows up, telling both of them that Lettie has done what we already know--sabotage Harry completely. Left alone downstairs, he messes with the poison. He goes to the local club that night; the pharmacist unwittingly let's him know that the poison Lettie bought acts immediately and painlessly (that's what they gave to the old dog). If I were him, having lost big time with Deborah, I'd seek out that blond who keeps popping up.
Instead, Harry has a cunning plan. Back at the shed, Lettie 'apologizes' for wrecking his engagement. Hey, Harry, what about that bedtime cup of cocoa? With all this build-up I almost expect all of them to drink the doggy-death stuff. "My it's sweet!," says Lettie. What's not so cool is that he gets distracted; Lettie just sips the cocoa, and gives it to her sister. Plunk! One elder sister hits the deck. Harry killed the 'wrong' sister; Lettie knows the chocolate was intended for her. The interesting thing is: it's Lettie who bought the poison; it's Lettie who served the poison to her. Plus a litany of do-gooder busybody prying into Hester's life generally.
The perfect crime? Let's see what the verdict is. Winner! Lettie's found guilty. That's my reaction; more rationally, Harry is depressed. In effect, he's responsible for two deaths. All because he couldn't stand up to Lettie. So, he confesses. The problem is, no one believes him. It really looks like he's just trying to save her. Suppose she validates his confession? Let's see about that. It's the night before her planned execution. With the D.A. listening from a corridor, the brother and sister discuss what happened. This is amazing. She's going to take the blame, and be executed.
That way, she'll completely sabotage the rest of his life by letting him live with his guilt. Even in death, she controls him. Truly a gothic story of love and loss. But then, in a wave of redemption, Deborah shows up--not married after all--and still aching to marry him. The end. It's conventional wisdom that the very abrupt and very happy ending was needed to satisfy the production code. Probably so. It detracts from what nearly ends up being a dark tragedy which, like a fairy tale, turns out happily ever after. I could fathom the huge slice of luck that shields him from the law; but to get that and his dream bride is a stretch.
Nevertheless, The Strange Affair is engrossing from beginning to (almost) the end. Raines, especially, is great as the confident career woman who's nonetheless fairly conventional (that's as much a feature of the production code as the feel-good ending). Strangely, there's more scenes of Sanders with the Fitzgerald and MacGill than with Raines; that emphasizes the dynamics of the dysfunctional family. Even a little of the girlfriend/fiance is enough to disrupt doings at the old house.
The star-gazing is a great metaphor. Deborah looks beyond the small town; Harry once did, and wants to do so again. That he gets his wish doesn't really change the fact that he got away with murder.