''Ivy'' is a 1947 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

film noir directed by

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as '' A Night at the Opera'', '' A Day at the Races'', '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', '' ...

and written by Charles Bennett, based on the 1927 novel '' The Story of Ivy'' by

Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes Marie Adelaide Elizabeth Rayner Lowndes (née Belloc; 5 August 1868 – 14 November 1947), who wrote as Marie Belloc Lowndes, was a prolific English novelist, and sister of author Hilaire Belloc. Active from 1898 until her death, she had a li ...

. The drama features

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

Patric Knowles Reginald Lawrence Knowles (11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995), better known as Patric Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second fi ...

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

and

Richard Ney Richard Maximilian Ney (November 12, 1916 – July 18, 2004) was an American actor, author, and investment counselor. Life and career Ney was born in New York City, the son of Erwin Maximilian Ney (1893-1968), an insurance salesman, and Charlott ...

. The film was entered into the

1947 Cannes Film Festival The 2nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 25 September 1947. The new building that was meant to host the festival, the Palais du Festival, was still not ready, and the festival was held amid many technical and financial problems. In 1947, t ...

. The song "Ivy," written to promote the film by

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

but not included in the soundtrack, has become a jazz standard. The film was later adapted in 1951 for the radio version of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

drama anthology show ''

Screen Directors' Playhouse ''Screen Directors Playhouse'' (sometimes written as ''Screen Directors' Playhouse'') is an American radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadcas ...

'', with

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

directing in place of Wood, who had died two years after the film's completion in 1949, and Fontaine reprising the title role as Ivy Lexton.

Plot

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Ivy Lexton (

) is a woman with a taste for the finer things in life. Despairing of her husband Jervis's (

), poor prospects, Ivy sees an opportunity in wealthy Miles Rushworth (

), and is determined to have him, despite being married and having the additional obstacle of her affair with the infatuated Dr. Roger Gretorex (

). However, because she is already married, Miles shows no interest in her. In response, Ivy tries unsuccessfully to persuade her husband to divorce her, then plans to poison him and pin the blame on Roger, clearing the way for a relationship with Miles. Inspector Orpington (

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...

) is called in to investigate Jervis' mysterious death.

Cast

as Ivy Lexton *

as Roger Gretorex *

as Miles Rushworth *

as Jervis Lexton *

as Inspector Orpington *

Lucile Watson Lucile Watson (May 27, 1879 – June 24, 1962) was a Canadian actress, long based in the United States. She was "famous for her roles of formidable dowagers." Early years Watson was born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa, the daughter of an off ...

as Mrs. Gretorex *

Sara Allgood Sarah Ellen Allgood (30 October 1880 – 13 September 1950), known as Sara Allgood, was an Irish-American actress. She first studied drama with the Irish nationalist Daughters of Ireland and was at the opening of the Irish National Theatre Soc ...

as Martha Huntley *

Henry Stephenson Henry Stephenson (born Harry Stephenson Garraway; 16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny on the Bou ...

as Judge *

Rosalind Ivan Rosalind Ivan (27 November 1880 – 6 April 1959) was an English stage and film character actress. Ivan appeared in fourteen American films from 1944 to 1954. Rosalind Muriel Pringle was the daughter of Stamford and Annie Pringle, who marrie ...

as Emily * Lillian Fontaine as Lady Flora *

Molly Lamont Molly Lamont (22 May 1910 – 7 July 2001) was a South African-British film actress. Life and career Lamont was born in Boksburg, Transvaal, South Africa. After winning a beauty contest in South Africa she was offered a contract by Britis ...

as Bella Crail * Una O'Connor as Mrs. Thrawn *

Isobel Elsom Isobel Elsom (born Isabelle Reed; 16 March 1893 – 12 January 1981) was an English film, theatre, and television actress. She was often cast as aristocrats or upper-class women. Early years Born in Chesterton, Cambridge, Elsom attend ...

as Miss Chattle *

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

as Sir Jonathan Wright *

Paul Cavanagh William Grigs Atkinson (8 December 1888 – 15 March 1964), known professionally as Paul Cavanagh, was an English film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1928 and 1959. Life and career Cavanagh was born in Felling, ...

as Doctor Berwick *

Lumsden Hare Francis Lumsden Hare (17 October 1874 – 28 August 1964) was an Irish-born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer. Early years Hare studied at St. Dunstan's College in London. Career Hare appeare ...

as Doctor Lanchester *

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

as Joan Rodney * C. Montague Shaw as Stevens

Critical reception

The staff of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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."''Variety.''
Film review, June 26, 1947. Last accessed: December 1, 2009.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivy (Film) 1947 films 1947 crime films Adultery in films American black-and-white films American crime films Film noir Films based on British novels Films based on works by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes Films directed by Sam Wood Universal Pictures films Films scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof Films set in the 1900s Films set in London American historical films 1940s historical films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films