- I wonder if this film's original title was just The Love of Martha Ivers before somebody saw it and realized how truly strange it was. For one thing, the film hits the half-hour mark before deploying either of Barbara Stanwyck or Kirk Douglas, arguably the best actress and actor of their generation. It also completely miscasts Douglas as an allegedly unattractive milksop, although, in fairness, it was his big screen debut. Maybe the casting director hadn't yet gotten a good look at the chin. The movie also features one of the most awkward Hollywood kisses ever filmed in a scene that starts off with Stanwyck swinging a flaming log at Van Heflin's head before he grabs and forcibly kisses her, much to her eventual delight. (Presumed tagline: In the end, it was her passions that were inflamed!)
- The film begins by depicting young Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson) running away with Sam Masterson (Darryl Hickman), the stereotypical poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks, to escape her cruel aunt (Judith Anderson). And when I say "cruel", I mean the sort of person who would beat a cat with a cane, making Mrs. Danvers look downright cheery by comparison. Young Martha eventually gets her revenge, with her bookish companion Walter O'Neil (Mickey Kuhn) as a witness, but Walter's father (Roman Bohnen) is happy to cover up the crime in exchange for financial support from the Ivers estate. Years later, an adult Sam Masterson (Heflin) comes crashing back into town, literally running into a road sign. He makes quick friends with a down-on-her-luck woman named Toni (Lizabeth Scott), but it isn't long before she's in trouble for probation violation. Together, she and Sam don't seem to be having much luck, but maybe the district attorney will be able to help.
- I say that because the D.A. is the grown-up version of Sam's old acquaintance, Walter (Douglas), now married to the grown-up Martha (Stanwyck). Granted, theirs is a marriage based largely on coercion and drinking, both on the part of Walter. When Sam approaches Walter with his request for help, the D.A. incorrectly assumes he has blackmail in mind. Walter becomes even more concerned when Sam reconnects with Martha, who is obviously still holding a torch for him (in addition to the literal flaming log that I already mentioned). Although Sam really does intend to leave town with Toni once his car is repaired, Walter hires some goons (including John Kellogg) to rough him up and expedite the process. Perhaps needless to say, this causes more trouble for everybody in the long run.
- While The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is hardly a bad movie, one imagines the much better film that could have resulted from having Douglas and Heflin swap roles or showing more of Stanwyck and less of Scott. That's not to say that anyone gives a bad performance, but only that it feels like many of the cast members were sorted into the wrong weight class. Director Lewis Milestone does an adequate job with the material, although the impressive background shots and detailed settings are often more interesting than what the characters are doing in the foreground. Two Roberts, Rossen and Risken, handled the screenplay, although only Rossen would get the credit. The whole thing is based on Jack Patrick's short story, the reading of which would permit me to rearrange the cast in my mind however I saw fit.
- Featuring a cameo by then-unknown future director Blake Edwards.
