The Bigamist (1953) Ida Lupino directs and co-stars in this unusual drama about a man with two wives. By all appearances, Harry Graham (Edmon O’Brien) has it all, with his loving wife Eve (Joan Fontaine), a good job, and a pending adoption to make their life complete, but as we soon learn, he’s been keeping a big secret from her. When an official (Edmund Gwenn) from the adoption agency suspects something’s not on the up and up with Harry, he makes a shocking discovery. Not only is he leading a separate life with Phyllis Martin (Ida Lupino) in another city, but they’re married and have an infant child. The film takes a surprisingly even-handed approach, depicting the lurid subject matter with sensitivity and intelligence. It doesn’t paint Harry as a villain, nor does it depict the two women as adversaries, once they learn his secret.
Rating: ***½. Available on DVD, and Prime Video
The Amazing Mr. X (1948) Turhan Bey stars as the fake
medium Alexis, who claims to possess the ability to converse with the dead. He targets
wealthy widow Christine Faber (Lynn Bari) and her impressionable younger sister,
Janet (Cathy O’Donnell). Richard Carlson plays Christine’s fiancé Martin, who
throws a monkey wrench into Alexis’ plans when he hires a private investigator
to debunk the con artist. John Alton’s moody, atmospheric cinematography, elevates
the film to a whole other level, and Bey is effective as the charismatic charlatan
Alexis.
Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Kanopy
The Locket (1946) Dr. Harry Blair (Brian Aherne) crashes a wedding to warn John Willis (Gene Raymond) about the woman he’s about to marry. Thus begins a flashback within a flashback within a flashback, which traces Nancy’s (Laraine Day) sordid past. One of the flashbacks features Robert Mitchum as Norman Clyde, her original suitor, who falls into her web of lies and deception. As the film digs deeper into Nancy’s history, we learn how a seemingly perfect young woman harbors a kleptomaniacal streak, which could be traced to a childhood incident. As each layer is revealed, another facet of Nancy and her dysfunctional relationship with men comes to light.
Rating: ***½. Available on DVD and HBO Max
In My Skin (2002) After Esther (played by Marina de Van, who also wrote and directed) suffers a nasty leg injury, she begins a dangerous obsession, inflicting new cuts to her skin. As the compulsion and cuts get deeper, she gradually alienates her exasperated boyfriend and co-workers. While Marina de Van deserves kudos for her bold, unflinching performance as a woman overcome by her unstoppable impulse for self-destruction, perhaps she wore one hat too many. The film escalates as Esther follows her horrific trajectory, but without a distinct third act, it just fizzles out in the end, with no solid conclusion. The makeup effects are appropriately stomach-turning, but they do service to an underbaked story which never manages to rise above obtuse social commentary.
Rating: **½. Available on Blu-ray and DVD
