The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

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The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

1946

1h 56m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Young Martha inadvertently causes the death of her cruel, authoritarian aunt. Martha lies to the cops, and Walter, who saw the crime, corroborates the girl's story. Eventually, they wed out of convenience; the meek Walter is genuinely in love, and Martha thinks that her secret is safe since she has married the one witness to her aunt's death. However, when her childhood pal, Sam, shows up, Martha knows her dark past may not stay a secret for long.

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Derek Adams

Time Out

02/09/2006

A gripping film noir, all the more effective for being staged by Milestone as a steamy romantic melodrama.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

01/01/2000

Pervaded by his guilty-liberal fascination with power and money.

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Sean Burns

Crooked Marquee

04/04/2023

In the hands of a great visual stylist (like Rossen himself) the movie could have been a masterpiece. As is, it’s still a corker.

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

12/08/2022

8/10

...offers the great pleasures that can come from watching a well-made film that is happy to exploit genre conventions for all they’re worth.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

11/07/2022

3/4

A sturdy melodrama-cum-film noir.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

07/02/2012

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is one of those really dark films noir that tends to get away with more than it seems to be getting away with.

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nick S

@Nick_S 6h

Wonderful cast, particularly the ladies. A great movie with good production value. Just a shame about the throwaway Hays code ending.

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Ted B.

@Movieaddicted May 25

3.5 stars; This film comes under the heading of 'They just don't make them like this anymore'. A film noir told in a classic novel style. The cast was loaded with superstars of the 1940s era, so the acting was superb by all. Although the plot was dark, it was so well told that it was compelling all the way through.

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bao s

@RT77741678 Aug 16

Great noir! Nice to see Kirk.

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Georgan G

@RT98616417 02/04/2025

This is a really great film noir. The plot twists & turns, the characters are well acted and the ending is thrilling.

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Jeff S

@jeffstone 02/16/2024

Kirk Douglas is unrelenting, Barbara Stanwyck is chilling, and there's no dearth of twists in this dark tale.

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Bradley H

@Bradleyh 11/19/2023

Films don't get much better. Van Heflin is superb as well as Lizabeth Scott. Stanwyck carries away the unhinged rich psychopath role with ease. Amazing film noir dialogue that's been played homage to over the years. Well worth every minute.

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Lewis Milestone

Director

Barbara Stanwyck

Martha Ivers

Van Heflin

Sam Masterson

Kirk Douglas

Walter O'Neil

Lizabeth Scott

Toni Marachek

Judith Anderson

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Synopsis

Young Martha inadvertently causes the death of her cruel, authoritarian aunt. Martha lies to the cops, and Walter, who saw the crime, corroborates the girl's story. Eventually, they wed out of convenience; the meek Walter is genuinely in love, and Martha thinks that her secret is safe since she has married the one witness to her aunt's death. However, when her childhood pal, Sam, shows up, Martha knows her dark past may not stay a secret for long.

Director: Lewis Milestone
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Screenwriter: John Patrick, Robert Rossen
Distributor: Laserlight Entertainment, Reel Media International [us], Master Movies, Kino Video, Paramount Pictures, Lumivision
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Hal Wallis Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 24, 1946, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Mono