There's a lot to enjoy in this above average British thriller from the Frank Launder-Sidney Gilliat production team. Start with Jack Hawkins as morally compromised insurance investigator Oliver Branwell, who gets himself personally involved in an arson case he's supposed to be investigating. Asthmatic Tracey Moreton (Dennis Price) is now married to Oliver's old flame Sarah (unimpressive Arlene Dahl), and when a minor accidental fire at Moreton Manor reunites the old lovers, things become increasingly more complicated. The film starts with a magnificent dolly shot reminiscent of the one opening Roland West's The Bat Whispers (1930), continues with a brief surrealistic dream sequence, and then descends into a noirish nightmare highlighted by superb black and white scenes of night time London. Also amongst the cast are a pre-stardom Christopher Lee, sexy Greta Gynt, and best of all Bernard Miles as Mr. Jerome, a dyspeptic private investigator who gets all the good comic lines ("shall I be mother?", "I'm afraid I ate something that didn't agree with me...something on the toast"). Fortune Is A Woman (She Played With Fire) is not a classic, but it's a very enjoyable feature bearing all the hallmarks of classic British cinema: excellent acting, intelligent writing, and exquisite production values.
Review of She Played with Fire
