The Affairs of Martha

An American comedy from the 1940s. Gossip spreads through a wealthy coastal town: a maid working in one of the houses has written a book about the private lives of the families she has served, and it is about to be published. Every family in the town panics. Each suspects their own maid, and it becomes clear that everyone has something to hide. The author is Martha; quiet, watchful, the person nobody notices. There is a separate matter as well: Martha is secretly married to the son of the house. He returns from a long research trip and wants a separation so he can marry someone else. From there the film runs on two lines: the scramble to find out what the book says, and what will become of the marriage. What the narrative is interested in is class: the people in these houses never considered that their servants were watching them, and that is what the idea of the book really frightens them with. The joke is there too. What Martha has written is not the exposure they assume; she genuinely likes these people and the book says so. The fear comes entirely from their own consciences. Marsha Hunt plays Martha. Richard Carlson, Marjorie Main and Virginia Weidler are in the cast. The screenplay is by Isobel Lennart, from her own story. Jules Dassin directed; one of the studio jobs at the start of his career. Who it is for: anyone who likes old Hollywood comedy and films about servants and the households they serve. Who it is not for: anyone expecting sharp social criticism; the film opens the subject and closes it in the end without disturbing anyone.