Review of They Won't Believe Me

There she is, Jane Greer, as cool and beautiful as ever, and yet she is dumped by Robert Young. Now how do you figure that? Not only that, but he also dumps Susan Hayward at her most sleek and flirtatious. So who is this guy? Well, he is Robert Young at his most amiable, perfectly cast as a charming man of shallow feelings whose main interests are money and comfort. And those come from his rich wife, expertly played by Rita Johnson, aged 34 at this time. The next year she appeared in THE BIG CLOCK (1948, see my review). But it was in that year, 1948, that she suffered a terrible accident which caused severe brain damage and ended her career as a major actress. Her career had lasted only eleven years, and although she made appearances afterwards in films, she was never a significant player again, and died tragically at the age of 52 of a brain haemorrhage. This film therefore shows her off at her best, only months before her accident. This film also shows Jane Greer at the very peak of her talents and allure. This was the film she made just before OUT OF THE PAST (1947, see my review), in which she gave an Oscar-worthy performance of staggering power and malignity. So here is Robert Young, smug and comfortable, and certainly not willing to leave his wife and her money, no matter how many beautiful and irresistible women he has affairs with, and who want him for themselves. It is thus a perfect recipe for a major noir film, which this certainly is. Because of course Young is accused of murdering one of the gals. But there are numerous twists to this tale, and we know, though the prosecutor does not, that Robert Young did not really kill Susan Hayward at all, because we saw her die in a car crash. But the trouble is, Young pretended that the woman in the car crash was his wife (who has meanwhile disappeared because she too is dead), so how can he now explain that it was really Susan Hayward in the car crash (burned beyond all recognition) and that he therefore could not possibly have murdered her? Try telling that to a jury. This is certainly a classic noir situation. The film is excellently directed by Irving Pichel, and due to his direction and the dynamic cast, the film is extraordinarily compelling, and it really is a superb film noir.