This Was A Woman is a British Film Noir form 1948. The title meekly implies that the main character might once have been a woman, a human being, but soon transformed into an evil hateful conniving witch.
A charming little dog plays an excellent supporting role in the first twenty minutes of This Was A Woman, but wouldn't you guess it, Sylvia was jealous of how much her husband loved his dog.
So when he was out she took the pooch to the vet and asked him to put him down. The vet asked what's wrong with the dog, how long has he been ill? Nothing is wrong with him, he's in perfect health, I just want him killed. How much will that be?
When her husband gets home and looks for his loyal companion and can't find him, he asks his wife if she had seen him. "I had him destroyed" she replied icily. How could he have gotten that ill in such a short while. "He was perfectly healthy, I just wanted him killed so he wouldn't bark anymore." Her husband recoils at his wife's complete disregard for life, and contempt for his happiness.
His hobby is growing roses, prize winning hybrids of his own creation.
Of course Sylvia selfishly cuts off all the irreplaceable blooms for a household floral arrangement, and the husband is of course devastated when he sees years of his hard work destroyed. But he pretty much lumps it for the sake of his marriage and of their two children.
I've never seen any of the all English cast before, but I can't help but imagine Joan Crawford in the lead role as malicious Sylvia. A role similar to Joan's parts in both Harriet Craig (1950), and Queen Bee (1955).
Crawford would have infused the part with infinitely more venom than did homely Sonia Dresdel.
However, Ms. Dresdel does turn up the flames in the final 15 minutes of the film, scorching all those trapped in her malevolent orbit.
I won't give away the grand finale, except to say that Sylvia is appropriately attired in a black dress. A woman doesn't dress in black for a wedding, or baby shower.
It is amazing that Crawford never made a glamorized American full Hollywood treatment remake of this fine European sizzler. The scene with the roses was right out of her playbook.
You can see This Was A Woman on YouTube.
A charming little dog plays an excellent supporting role in the first twenty minutes of This Was A Woman, but wouldn't you guess it, Sylvia was jealous of how much her husband loved his dog.
So when he was out she took the pooch to the vet and asked him to put him down. The vet asked what's wrong with the dog, how long has he been ill? Nothing is wrong with him, he's in perfect health, I just want him killed. How much will that be?
When her husband gets home and looks for his loyal companion and can't find him, he asks his wife if she had seen him. "I had him destroyed" she replied icily. How could he have gotten that ill in such a short while. "He was perfectly healthy, I just wanted him killed so he wouldn't bark anymore." Her husband recoils at his wife's complete disregard for life, and contempt for his happiness.
His hobby is growing roses, prize winning hybrids of his own creation.
Of course Sylvia selfishly cuts off all the irreplaceable blooms for a household floral arrangement, and the husband is of course devastated when he sees years of his hard work destroyed. But he pretty much lumps it for the sake of his marriage and of their two children.
I've never seen any of the all English cast before, but I can't help but imagine Joan Crawford in the lead role as malicious Sylvia. A role similar to Joan's parts in both Harriet Craig (1950), and Queen Bee (1955).
Crawford would have infused the part with infinitely more venom than did homely Sonia Dresdel.
However, Ms. Dresdel does turn up the flames in the final 15 minutes of the film, scorching all those trapped in her malevolent orbit.
I won't give away the grand finale, except to say that Sylvia is appropriately attired in a black dress. A woman doesn't dress in black for a wedding, or baby shower.
It is amazing that Crawford never made a glamorized American full Hollywood treatment remake of this fine European sizzler. The scene with the roses was right out of her playbook.
You can see This Was A Woman on YouTube.