Caught

An American drama. Leonora is at a charm school and dreams of a rich life. She goes to a party and meets Smith Ohlrig there. Ohlrig is very rich. He is also controlling to the point of illness, quick to anger, and uses people like objects; even the decision to marry is taken to spite a doctor. They marry. The house is large, the staff many, and Leonora is alone. He does not come for days, and when he does he threatens. She leaves and takes a job as a secretary at a clinic. The clinic is in a poor neighbourhood; there are two doctors, one hard and distant, the other warm. From there the film becomes a matter of choice: go back or stay. And a new situation forces her hand. What the narrative is interested in is not love but dependence: what keeps Leonora from leaving is not feeling but money and law. It has long been said that the character of Ohlrig was drawn from a real person; the resemblance to a very rich industrialist of the period is plain. Barbara Bel Geddes plays Leonora, James Mason the doctor and Robert Ryan plays Ohlrig. Max Ophüls directed; he came from Europe and the constant movement of his camera is the film's signature. Who it is for: anyone who likes 1940s noir and melodrama centred on a woman. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a quick resolution; the narrative holds the trap for a long time and its ending is disputed.