Bette is Poison

George Bates (Gary Merrill) is on the run. He pulled a bank job with another man - Preston - and a guard was shot. George arrives at the home of Preston's estranged wife, Janet Frobisher (Bette Davis) to find that Preston is dead - Janet killed him when Preston started beating her. But George needs to use Janet's estate to hide out. Tonight we'll discuss Another Man's Poison (1952).

Not unexpectedly, Bette Davis dominates this film as a strong, selfish, and malevolent woman who likes her horse far better than she likes men. It's obvious that men serve one purpose in her life (since this is a PG-rated blog, I won't go into detail). Her taste in men is also decidedly bad. Her husband was a bank robber and abuser; her current lover, Larry Stevens (Anthony Steel) is a bore; and George Bates is treacherous piece of work. You'd think a woman with her brains could pick someone more agreeable. Were it not for the way she accomplished it, you could almost sympathize with the killing of her husband. It's quite clear that he beat her severely before George's arrival.

Emlyn Williams (Dr. Henderson) is also quite good as the veterinarian who suspects George is not exactly he appears. The audience gradually realizes that Henderson is quite smart, and is not letting on all he knows. Viewers today would be reminded of Columbo, as Henderson tries to worm his way into George's trust.  Mr. Williams is best known as a playwright - the author of The Corn is Green. His presence in this film was one of the reasons that Ms. Davis was interested in appearing in it.  Mr. Williams thrilled her when he introduced her to the woman who was the model for Miss Moffat. (TCM article).

The rest of the cast is, at best, adequate. We're none of us particularly fans of Gary Merrill. His best role was in All About Eve, and quite honestly, he was never all that impressive in other parts. George is a nasty, petty opportunist, and we found nothing to like about him. Mr. Merrill is very over-the-top in his performance, and it would have helped if he'd been toned down a bit. The only plus was that we looked forward to seeing Janet best him; he's just no match for her on any level, which was obvious from the start. 

Ms. Davis married Mr. Merrill in 1950 (after a passionate affair during All About Eve) - both needed to resolve other marriages first. When the couple headed to England to make this film, the marriage was new and relatively happy. The Merrills considered it a honeymoon, though they made the trip accompanied by their two children, two nannies, and a maid. Their union lasted for 10 years and most of it was unhappy. Sam Staggs, in his book All About "All About Eve": The Complete Behind the Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made,  called the association "a parade of depressing floats: drunkenness, strife, abuse."

Which brings us to the Larry Stevens (Anthony Steel) / Chris Dal (Barbara Murray) subplot, which we found to be a total waste of time. As we mentioned before, Larry is totally uninteresting, and the only benefit to Chris is that she is a good match for him - equally dull. There is a scene midway through the film when Chris admits to knowing of Larry's relationship with Janet. It is so banal, we found we could mouth the dialog with her.

The film was based on a play (Deadlock) that was inspired by Emile Zola's Thérèse Raquin (AFI Catalog).  The New York Times review by A.H.Weiler (A.W.) was lukewarm, calling it "a static affair that rarely escapes from its sets or the scenarist's verbosity." What praise he gave to the film was saved for Ms. Davis. Sadly, we concur. If you are a Bette Davis completest, then give it one viewing (it doesn't deserve more than that). Otherwise, this might be one to pass on (and just watch All About Eve again). 

We'll leave you with a trailer: