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Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Roman Bohnen, Charles D. Brown, Lizabeth Scott ... see more see more... , Kirk Douglas , Ann Doran , Judith Anderson , Darryl Hickman , James Flavin , Frank Orth , Walter S. Baldwin , Catherine Craig , Kernan Cripps , Sayre Dearing , Kay Deslys , Tom Fadden , Betty Hill , Robert E. Homans , Olin Howland , Gladden James , John Kellogg , Mickey Kuhn , Thomas Lockyear , Matt McHugh , Al Murphy , Bob Perry , Bert Roach , Max Wagner , Blake Edwards , Tommy Ryan , Billy Burt , Tom Schamp , Tom Dillon , Janis Wilson

In The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, relationships formed in childhood lead to murder and obsessive love. The wealthy Martha Ivers (Barbara Stanwyck) is the prime mover of the small Pennsylvania town ... read more read more...of Iverston. Martha lives in a huge mansion with her DA husband, Walter O'Neil (Kirk Douglas), an alcoholic weakling. No one knows just why Martha and Walter tolerate one another....but Sam Masterson (Van Heflin), an Iverstown boy who returns to town, may just have a clue. At least that's what Martha thinks when Sam asks Walter to intervene in the case of Toni Marachek (Lizabeth Scott), who has been unjustly imprisoned. It seems that, as a young boy, Sam was in the vicinity when Martha's rich aunt (Judith Anderson) met with her untimely demise. What does Sam know? And what dark, horrible secret binds Martha and Walter together? Directed by Lewis Milestone, and based on John Patrick's Oscar-nominated original story, Love Lies Bleeding, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers creates in Martha a unique and interesting, driven, obsessed, and spoiled character, but one not without sympathy. Barbara Stanwyck is outstanding as Martha, with her predatory smile and sharp, manicured nails. Kirk Douglas is surprisingly convincing as a lost, sad, weak man, who loves his wife, but is unable to gain her respect. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers eventually lapsed into public domain and became a ubiquitous presence on cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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8 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Lewis Milestone

Release Date: July 24, 1946

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DVD Release Date: April 29, 1998

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Flixster Reviews (104)

  • ajv2688
    October 21, 2010
    ajv2688
    I liked this movie, it's suspenseful and has a good story and good actors too. It doesn't list Kirk Douglas, but he's in the movie too.
  • bottcorecords1
    December 11, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    Martha Ivers, as you will learn in the first 10 minutes of this movie, is crazy. As a young teen, she makes repeated attempts to run away from her stodgy and controlling old aunt (who also happens to be incredibly wealthy) and join the circus along with her hoodlum boyfriend, Sa... read morem. However, she is also friends with Walter, the son of her tutor who, although is kind of wimpy and unexciting, none the less sticks by her and entertains her. Certain events take place which, while beneficial to Martha, Walter and his father, lead inadvertantly to Sam leaving town, and he doesn't return home for 18 years. When he does come back, he meets an attractive girl named Toni, and the two are soon (very suggestively) enjoying adjoining hotel rooms. Martha meanwhile, has grown into a giant of industry, creating an enormous amount of the town's wealth through the new factories she's built. Walter too, has done well for himself, he's now the district attorney, running for re-election that is all but guaranteed, "a sure thing". When Toni gets into trouble for parole violation, Sam goes to his old friend Walter to see if he'll get her out of jail as a favor for old times' sake, but Walter sees Sam as a threat. Thinking he's after blackmail, Walter has Sam beaten and dumped on the outskirts of town. But is it blackmail that he's really afraid of, or is it jealousy over Martha? Martha it seems, is only with Walter out of convenience, or even out of fear. Her past binds her to these two men for life you see, and whereas Walter she can control, Sam she has no power over, and it makes her crazy, or horny, or both. It's a recurring theme between Martha and Sam, she tries to kill him, he gets all worked up and starts kissing her. It's rather unusual to find in a 1940s movie a hero making love to a married woman (even The Big Sleep's story was changed to keep Philip Marlowe from committing adultery). In fact, it's rather difficult to side with Sam at all, as he plays tough guy with the ladies, makes love to married women and in the end, does attempt a blackmailing racket on the married couple after all. The Martha Ivers character is never satisfactorily explored; is she manipulative and vindictive, or is she just sad, scared and mentally unbalanced? It's all the more strange that, out of all the leading characters, she's one of the more minor ones of the film (despite the star power of Barbara Stanwyck and the fact that it's the title role), taking a backseat to Toni (Lizabeth Scott), Walter (Kirk Douglas) and Sam (Van Heflin). The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is about watching some unpleasant or amoral people doing unpleasant and amoral things. I don't think there's one sympathetic character in the whole movie. Also, I'm not so sure some of the elements in the film have aged that gracefully: the dialogue (or is it the acting?) Van Heflin engages the two females in is a little cheesy at times (and alot cheesy at others). Still, for a piece of 1940s mainstream filmmaking, it plays loose with the moral codes of that era and gives us a subliminable kinky subtext.
  • flixsterman
    September 29, 2009
    flixsterman
    Whether its paperback fiction like Lady of Burlesque, or a tear-jerker like Stella Dallas, or the noir-ish suspense of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Barbara Stanwyck delivers. I just can't take my eyes off of her. She's never just set dressing, even whe... read moren she's silent she speaks volumes. Wow.

    *NOTE: Does anyone else think that Lizabeth Scott looks like a poor man's Lauren Bacall?
  • kenstachnik
    March 3, 2008
    kenstachnik
    This movie has possibly the most mela-dramatic music ever.

    Acting is solid all round, and the direction is great. Unfortunately the story is the big let down here with a rubbish ending.
  • binky013
    January 12, 2008
    binky013
    This is less a showcase of Barbara Stanwyck than it is a memorable screen debut for Kirk Douglas. But if you like Stanwyck, this is definitely worth the watch. She can definitely play characters from one end of the complexity spectrum to the other, always with depth. Naughty o... read morer nice, she brings everything to the table.
  • jjnxn
    March 29, 2007
    jjnxn
    Barbara is evil as only she can be
  • mjgildea
    December 26, 2006
    mjgildea
    Stanwyck was great even if the movie wasn't.
  • Tecnoandre
    September 26, 2010
    Tecnoandre
    Black-and-white film noir released in the United States in 1946, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott and an young Kirk Douglas in his film debut. The movie is based on the short story "Love Lies Bleeding" by playwright John Patrick, using the pseudonym Jack Pat... read morerick, and was produced by Hal B. Wallis. The screenplay was written by Robert Rossen and Robert Riskin, who was not credited, and was directed by Lewis Milestone. The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film FestivalOn a rainy night in 1928 in a Pennsylvania factory town called Iverstown, Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson), a young girl yearning to escape from the guardianship of her wealthy, domineering aunt, is caught trying to run away with her friend, the street-smart, poor Sam Masterson (Darryl Hickman).[2] Martha is taken home. Later that night, Sam comes for her, but hides when her aunt hears Martha's beloved cat wandering on the staircase. When Mrs. Ivers attacks the pet with her cane Martha intervenes, with fatal consequences.
    Dark and shadly with depressing atmosphere this is a great movie.
  • jimbotender
    January 30, 2010
    jimbotender
    Unnecessary extra half hour in a fine (up to a point) soft-core thriller.I won't complain much about the relatively "slow" timeline although I must state it's the almost forgettable due to Douglas' overacting and fake rudeness of his character which ruins the whole of the film.Mi... read morelestone shows hints of steady cuts and a smooth tempo fit to the U.S. 40's mood but that's not enough for someone to discover something original to the storyline.
  • shutterbug99
    October 11, 2008
    shutterbug99
    Paranoia, lust, guilt, fear, suspense and intrigue combine in a movie which kept me hooked until the very end. Nice twist too! Definitely worth checking out if you're a Stanwyck fan. She was amazing, as always! Kirk Douglas in his film debut also gives a strong performance.
    ... read more
    As for those who have pointed out the Lizabeth Scott/Lauren Bacall similarities, I must agree!

View All The Strange Love of Martha Ivers Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

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

Ken Hanke
June 2, 2010
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

One of the most effective and underrated noirs of that classic era. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
November 5, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Though well-crafted, this potboiler is a second-tier film noir, mostly known for featuring Kirk Douglas screen debut, as Stanwyck's weakling hubby; in a few years, Douglas will develop his more charac... Full Review

Pablo Villaca
April 5, 2006
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Buscando ecoar o infinitamente superior Pacto de Sangue (também com Stanwyck), o filme desperta interesse por sua moral ambígua, mas se enfraquece em função do final implausível. Mas Douglas impressio...

Derek Adams
February 9, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

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

Michael Szymanski
October 15, 2005
Michael Szymanski, Hollywood.com

A forgotten classic with great stars, get reminded...

Jake Euker
December 10, 2004
Jake Euker, Filmcritic.com

slick entertainment with a taut narrative and shrewd direction Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
October 5, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

An engrossing film noir. Full Review

February 23, 2012
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

March 25, 2006
New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

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Facts

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    • Martha Ivers: Its the only room I didn't change. [on showing her childhood room to Sam]
    • Sam Masterson: We were just a couple of kids.
    • Mrs. Ivers: Sorry that you ever left here. [to Sam]
    • Walter O'Neil: And you. What have you done?
    • Walter O'Neil: All life is a gamble.
    • Sam Masterson: You'll do it for old times sake.
    • Martha Ivers: A sure thing is never a gamble.
    • Martha Ivers: There's only way you'll find out, release the girl.
    • Sam Masterson: I haven't been on the rubberneck tour for years. [on being shown the house of Martha]
    • Sam Masterson: Better get out of those wet clothes.
    • Toni Marachek: I was so lonesome tonight, I was about to died.
    • Sam Masterson: LIke I said, we leave tomorrow.
    • Sam Masterson: You don't have to tell me who you are, I can tell by the smell.
    • Sam Masterson: You scared little boy. You're just about to do your old pal a great big favor.
Submit a Fact | View All

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