Ivy (1947 film)
| Ivy | |
|---|---|
 Magazine advertisement | |
| Directed by | Sam Wood |
| Written by | Story: Marie Belloc Lowndes |
| Screenplay by | Charles Bennett |
| Produced by | W. Cameron Menzies |
| Starring | Joan Fontaine Patric Knowles Herbert Marshall |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Edited by | Ralph Dawson |
| Music by | Daniele Amfitheatrof |
Production company | Inter-Wood Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Ivy is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by Sam Wood and written by Charles Bennett, based on The Story of Ivy, the novel written by Marie Belloc Lowndes. The drama features Joan Fontaine, Patric Knowles and Herbert Marshall.[1] The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
The song, "Ivy", written for the film by Hoagy Carmichael, has become a jazz standard.
Plot
Ivy Lexton (Joan Fontaine) is a woman with a hunger to seduce men. Though she already has a husband, Jervis (Richard Ney), and is having an affair with Dr. Roger Gretorex (Patric Knowles), Ivy becomes obsessed with wealthy Miles Rushworth (Herbert Marshall), and is determined to have him.
However, Miles shows no interest because she's a married woman, which angers Lexton. Bored with her monotonous marriage, Ivy plans on poisoning her husband then pinning the blame on Roger so she may run off with Miles. Inspector Orpington (Cedric Hardwicke) is called to investigate Jervis' mysterious death.
Cast
- Joan Fontaine as Ivy Lexton
- Patric Knowles as Roger Gretorex
- Herbert Marshall as Miles Rushworth
- Richard Ney as Jervis Lexton
- Cedric Hardwicke as Insp. Orpington
- Lucile Watson as Mrs. Gretorex
- Sara Allgood as Martha Huntley
- Henry Stephenson as Judge
- Rosalind Ivan as Emily
- Lillian Fontaine as Lady Flora
- Molly Lamont as Bella Crail
- Una O'Connor as Mrs. Thrawn
- Isobel Elsom as Miss Chattle
- Alan Napier as Sir Jonathan Wright
- Matthew Boulton as Tom Lumford
Critical reception
The staff of Variety magazine said of the film, "William Cameron Menzies' production has an off-the-beaten path design that helps generate the melodramatic mood desired. Sets are small and players and settings are lensed from close range. Cast performances are good, but reflect directorial obviousness."[3]
References
External links
- Ivy at IMDb
- Ivy at AllMovie
- Ivy at the TCM Movie Database
- Ivy short film clip on YouTube (Joan Fontaine)