The Reckless Moment

A film set in a coastal town in California. Lucia runs the house. Her husband is away for work and they write letters; two children, a father-in-law and everything at home are hers. Her daughter Bea is seeing a man much older. Lucia finds him and warns him off; he asks for money. That night he comes to the house, there is an argument and an accident. In the morning Lucia finds the body and her first thought is not to call the police: it is that her daughter's name must not appear. She puts the body in the car and takes it away. Soon after a man comes to the door. Donnelly has letters and wants money. From there the film moves like a story of blackmail. But Donnelly does not behave as expected; he sees her situation, notices the load she carries and begins to feel something for her. What the film is interested in is not the crime but a woman's daily burden: throughout, Lucia answers the phone, does the shopping, sends a child off and covers up a death at the same time. Joan Bennett plays Lucia and James Mason plays Donnelly. Max Ophüls directed. The source is Elisabeth Sanxay Holding's novel. One of the more interesting examples of its kind for anyone who likes noir and thrillers centred on a woman. For a viewer expecting a conventional mystery, the film is interested in the household rather than the investigation.