All of the losers featured here, Sam Masterson is the only one who isn't really a loser. In fact, the only reason I chose him over Kirk Douglas' Walter or Barbara Stanwyck's Martha, is because he represents one of my favorite tropes in film noir: going back to your hometown and regretting it. And because Van Heflin is fantastic as usual.
Pennsylvania, 1928. A young Martha Ivers (Janis Wilson) tries to run away with her friend Sam Masterson (Darryl Hickman), but she's captured and returned to her mansion, under the watchful eye of Mrs Ivers (Judith Anderson). Later that night, Martha kills Mrs Ivers. Her tutor Mr O'Neill (Roman Bohnen) and his son Walter Jr (Mickey Kuhn) are the only witnesses. In the present day, Sam (Van Heflin) crashes his car. Right in Iverstown. While he waits for his car to be repaired, he meets Toni Marachek (Lizabeth Scott) and becomes smitten with her. But he's back in his hometown. And his past is waiting for him.
Written by Oscar-nominated Robert Rossen, based on the short story 'Love Lies Bleeding' by John Patrick, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946, dir. Lewis Milestone) is a classic example of the 'going back to your hometown' motif in film noir. The four main characters are perfect examples of this. Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) and Walter (Kirk Douglas) are both living with a secret from which they can't escape. Toni refuses to go back to Ridgeville. And Sam... well, Sam didn't want this. He didn't want to go back to his old hometown. It happened by pure chance. He wasn't planning on crashing his car. He wasn't planning on seeing Martha and Walter again. He had no intention of going back to a town that bears Martha's family name and is run by District Attorney Walter O'Neill. The oppressiveness of Iverstown is something he could have easily done without.
'I just happened to be driving through on my way West and got more or less curious, that's all.' Sam Masterson
And for an hour and 51 minutes, we watch him struggle to get away from it again and again. He meets Martha and Walter again, secrets are unearthed, old loves resurface, and he learns how to play the game with the right people in this new modern place he doesn't recognize. All while he's trying to get to Toni. And that's where it all lies. Toni. Martha is Sam's past. Toni is his future. And that age-old power balance between the two makes for one compelling narrative. Martha or Toni? Iverstown or West? Right or wrong?
'I missed a bus once and I was lucky. I wanted to see if I could be lucky twice' Toni Marachek
The reason why Sam is the biggest winner in this entire publication is because he makes the right choice. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers has, surprisingly enough, a sort of happy ending. Sam Masterson is neither a victim nor a villain. He didn't give in. He wasn't seduced by his former town. Or his past. Where Jeff Bailey failed, Sam Masterson succeeded. His gambling may have gotten him into trouble a few times, but, all in all, Sam Masterson has a lot more going for him than most people in these noir streets which, granted, isn't saying much. And this is where Martha Ivers differs from the other noirs. Orson Welles may have perfected the 'hometown melodrama' with The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), but Lewis Milestone took it to noir town with The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. And what a beautiful job he did with it, too. That window shot at the end... divine.
We bid farewell to Sam Masterson and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Our next loser... well, they're a couple of losers actually, and the original couple on the run. The film is They Live By Night (1948), the actors are Cathy O'Donnell and Farley Granger and the losers... are Keechie and Bowie.
See you on the sunny side of the street.
A good take, Carol. Such a good film with wonderful actors. I haven’t been counting but Barbara Stanwyck might be the actor who appears the most in your “ film noir” posts. I’m happy about that.😃
Hoping to watch this one now. Leaving home, going home. Foundational themes.