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I love this movie so much

Simply Perfect

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I appreciate the overall theme and believe it has merit in its outlook on marriage. And Lew Ayers gives a near-Oscar-worthy performance. He and Eve Arden are so good, you can recommend this film just for the two of them.Plot-wise I have some problems. Yes the husband failed and pretty much set himself up for some of his marital woes. But Mrs. is a real piece of work. Maybe you understand the infidelity point generally during wartime- OK its wrong but understandable in some cases. But I believe the writers here have blown it. Her immense quantity of lies, and serial lying, lying in a sworn police statement (a legal criminal document) are just too much. Lying to police, district attorneys, the press and public. A fundamental series of lies to her own lawyer, who also is a loyal old friend who trusted her.As to her complaint about loneliness- I don't buy it because near the end she is proposing to simply go her sister's house to live. Why could she not go stay with sister during the war (could have paid those servants a retainer and traveled) or have her sister visit her in the lonely house? Couldn't she have easily afforded to bring in out-of-state family to visit her in Los Angeles? And she wasn't leading an empty life- she worked with Red Cross and numerous other organizations. I question the writer's over-assassination of her character traits. She's supposed to be a cheating wife- but she is also portrayed as the least trustworthy, chronic liar in the history of film. I don't understand how the husband and the lawyer could possibly continue any relationship with this remarkably prolific liar. This despite the fact that in many cases relationships can and do continue with cheating wives and/or husbands.If a cheating husband told this many lies to this many people post-affair, he would be placed in alimony purgatory by the system and ridden out of town on a rail. Not for the infidelity, but for extent of his lies to everyone.So I believe this film has some serious flaws as written.

In this heavily worked over re-imagining of Somerset Maugham's "The Letter" Ann Sheridan suffers, in mink of course, when poor choices she's made come home to roost.Ann's sweet natured Chris Hunter is miles removed from the calculating, inwardly vicious Leslie Crosbie previously essayed by Bette Davis and Jeanne Eagels and it changes the tone of the story. In this the affair with the victim is long past and it is the main character who has ended it rather than the reverse which added a great deal of tension and set the scene for the crime of passion that was the focus of the story. Still this is an entertaining melodrama played expertly by Ann but with her two leading men making less of an impact than in previous incarnations of the tale. Zachary Scott, taking a break from being the villain of the piece, is okay as the wronged husband but he always made more of an impression when there was a bit of menace to his character. Lew Ayres' part of the family attorney and friend has been drained of the conflict that James Stephenson played so well in the 1940 version and made him a standout in that film. Lew just melts into the background here.The other player of distinction aside from Ann is the best friend a leading lady ever had, Eve Arden. In a part that either didn't exist or has been greatly enhanced from other versions she plays Paula, high living and apparently shallow cousin of the wronged husband who turns out to be alright in the end. Her tart asides liven the film whenever she appears and the writers have handed her the best dialog knowing she would make it come alive. Best bit-when referring to the gaucherie of an acquaintance "Isn't that Joan stupid? She's not even smart enough to be an idiot!" A watered down version of a classic missing the original's snap but on its own merits a highly enjoyable film. In its rethinking of the tale it does add the twist of examining the pitfalls of hasty wartime marriages and some of the costs entailed to both husband and wife.

***SPOILERS*** Loosely based on the 1940 Bette Davis smash hit "The Letter" by W. Somerset Maugham. The film "the Unfaithful" has successful home builder and decorated combat veteran Bob Hunter, Zachary Scott,finding out to his everlasting shock and humiliation that his wife was cheating on him behind his back when he was with the US Marines in the South Pacific dodging Jap bullets and mortar shells.This all come out when Bob's cheating wife Chris,Ann Sheridan, stabbed to death her ex-lover Michael Tanner, Paul Bradley, when he tried to restart his illicit affair with her one dark evening by breaking into her and Bob's suburban L.A home. Making it look like self-defense it later comes out that Chris had her portrait sculptured by Tanner during the time hubby Bob was risking his life fighting the Japs in Pacific island hellholes like Guadalcanal and Tarawa. It's Bob & Chris'good friend and divorce lawyer Larry Hannaford, Lew Ayres, who discovered this shocking fact when he was contacted by antique dealer Martin Barrow, Steven Geray, whom the late Michael Tanner sold Chris' sculpture to.Trying to keep her relationship with Tanner from her husband Bob Chris ends up making things a lot worse then they already were. It proved that Chris had a good reason in killing Tanner in keeping him from blackmailing her. Barrow who was only interested in collecting the blackmail money, a cool $10,000.00, was overruled by Tanner's grieving wife, Marta Mitrovich, who only wanted revenge by having the already emotionally destroyed Chris sent to the San Quentin gas chamber for her husbands cold-blooded murder. This despite the fact that her two-timing husband Michael was having an affair with Chris while she was home slaving over the stove cooking his supper which, by fooling around with Chris, he rarely ate!***SPOILER ALERT*** It was the wise and experienced, in family matters, Larry Hannaford-Esquire-who set things straight for both Bob & Chris in getting them to put aside their differences and kiss and make up. Larry who deals with situations like husbands and wives who are on the outs saw in both Bob and Chris hope in that they got caught up in things beyond their control: WWII and the difficulties it brought to newlywed couples like themselves. In being separated from Bob for years at a time Chris never really knew if he'll ever come back to her or end up getting himself killed on a Jap controlled Pacicfic island or, while in transit, in a kamikaze suicide attack on his US Navy troopship. ***MAJOR SPOILER*** With Larry's skillful defense of Chris on her first degree murder trial he convinced the jury that it was Michael not Chris who was the person most responsible for his untimely death by not letting go of his obsession for Chris. This lead to a kill or be killed situation with Chris in fighting for her life ending up as the soul survivor. As for the hurt and feeling down in the dumps Bob in Chris dropping him, a decorated combat veteran, for a cowardly 4F draft dodger he, with Larry's help, learned to live with it and take a grateful Chris back thus putting his, and Chris, shattered life back together again.

This is not a remake of "The Letter," rather this film and "The Letter" are based on the same source, a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Strangely, Maugham is not given credit. Since he was still alive at the time, one wonders why he didn't object. Since "The Letter," there have been other films using the same theme but not quite as obviously as "The Unfaithful," though the setting and other parts have been changed to update the story. The delightful Ann Sheridan, who never received her due recognition as an actress, plays the bored housewife who has a fling while her new husband is away at war. Like so many other beauties, Marilyn Monroe comes to mind, Sheridan was promoted as a sex kitten, The "Oomph" Girl, and her true talents were never appreciated by the Hollywood establishment. Though Sheridan is fine, three supporting players steal the show. The magnificent Lew Ayres shines as the attorney friend who tries to put the pieces together hoping to exonerate Chris Hunter (Sheridan) from suspected murder. The more he searches the less the puzzle pieces fit. Ayres received a bum rap by Hollywood big wigs when he exercised his First Amendment rights during World War II to express his pacifist views. This movie represents his efforts to be re-accepted.Zachary Scott plays against type as the husband who is caught in a murder investigation he doesn't understand. As the story unwinds, he learns more about his wife than he wants to know or to accept. When Bob Hunter (Scott) appears on the scene having been away on business, the viewer automatically thinks he is in someway involved in the killing since Scott usually played the bad guy. This film shows that Scott was a more versatile actor when given an opportunity.Then there's the elegant Eve Arden as family friend and relative, Paula. Arden has some of the best lines in the movie and does she know how to deliver them! She is catty, coy, and funny when delivering just one well-written line of dialog. When her role turns more serious toward the end of the flick, she knows how to handle that too with élan.The film is worthwhile but there are a few weaknesses. One is the introduction of characters that just wander in and then disappear without rhyme or reason. For example, at a drunken party, Paula's ex, Roger, played by Douglas Kennedy, disrupts the proceedings and has to be led away by Chris and Larry Hannaford (Lew Ayres). After such a grand spectacle, Roger is never seen or mentioned again in the movie. The viewer keeps waiting for his return thinking that just maybe he had something to do with the murder.Another weakness is running time. This film is way too long. It would have played much better in a 60+ time slot. As is, there is too much dialog. So there are long boring talky parts included to stretch the film to an almost two hour format. "The Unfaithful" is more of an effective programmer than the flashy main feature it tries to be.