John Willis (Gene Raymond) is just getting happily married to a beautiful woman named Nancy Patton (Laraine Day), when a strange man (Brian Aherne) shows up to the wedding reception. He introduces himself as Dr. Blair, a psychiatrist, and claims to be married to Nancy. Suspicious at first, John starts listening to Blair's story about how he first met Nancy and how she might not be what she claims to be. Nancy's earlier escapades are then seen in multiple flashbacks within each other – her story includes an artist named Norman Clyde (Robert Mitchum), stolen jewellery, even murder... or are they all just jealous rumours?
Many of film noir's key elements are present in the film: stark lighting, black and white cinematography, retrospective narrative structure and a femme fatale character who maintains her mystery throughout and keeps everyone guessing until the end. The mood is softer than in hardboiled detective stories though; The Locket is more interested in Nancy's character development than a forlorn atmosphere. Her thieving tendencies are portrayed as stemming from her childhood as the daughter of a rich family's housekeeper, particularly an instance when she was falsely accused of stealing a diamond necklace. Regardless of what one thinks about the believability of pointing out a clear cause for Nancy's character traits, it must be noted that Laraine Day succeeds in the role very nicely; it seems believable that her fragile, pretty face might well be a facade for a dangerous seductress. Robert Mitchum is very charismatic too as the unfortunate artist Clyde, but some of the child actresses in the farthest-reaching flashback are not so convincing.
Even though the three-fold flashback method feels quite heavy a manner to unwind the story, it makes sure the different timelines don't mix confusingly and keeps things neatly where they belong. It also adds to the mystery of Nancy; since we mostly see her the way she is remembered by possibly unreliable characters, we can never be quite sure about how she really is. The ending comes across as a bit watered down considering the film's noir roots, but most of the time it is interesting to follow Nancy manipulate the hapless lovesick men around her. In the end, The Locket is well worth watching, even if not among the most atmospheric movies of its kind.
Many of film noir's key elements are present in the film: stark lighting, black and white cinematography, retrospective narrative structure and a femme fatale character who maintains her mystery throughout and keeps everyone guessing until the end. The mood is softer than in hardboiled detective stories though; The Locket is more interested in Nancy's character development than a forlorn atmosphere. Her thieving tendencies are portrayed as stemming from her childhood as the daughter of a rich family's housekeeper, particularly an instance when she was falsely accused of stealing a diamond necklace. Regardless of what one thinks about the believability of pointing out a clear cause for Nancy's character traits, it must be noted that Laraine Day succeeds in the role very nicely; it seems believable that her fragile, pretty face might well be a facade for a dangerous seductress. Robert Mitchum is very charismatic too as the unfortunate artist Clyde, but some of the child actresses in the farthest-reaching flashback are not so convincing.
Even though the three-fold flashback method feels quite heavy a manner to unwind the story, it makes sure the different timelines don't mix confusingly and keeps things neatly where they belong. It also adds to the mystery of Nancy; since we mostly see her the way she is remembered by possibly unreliable characters, we can never be quite sure about how she really is. The ending comes across as a bit watered down considering the film's noir roots, but most of the time it is interesting to follow Nancy manipulate the hapless lovesick men around her. In the end, The Locket is well worth watching, even if not among the most atmospheric movies of its kind.