A Gay/campy chronicling of daily life in NYC,with individual kernels of human truth. copyright 2011 by The Raving Queen
Thursday, July 24, 2014
It Takes One Bitch To Kill Another!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What "The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers," makes clear, right from the start, is that two bitches cannot live under the same roof!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Judith Anderson, a regular bitch herself; I mean, with that face, what else could she play????, is Aunt Ivers, the richest woman in town. But she did not raise her daughter, right, because her daughter turned out trash, who ran off with some--oh, the shame of it!!!!!--mill hand, and bore a love child, Martha. Now, not to confuse readers, this is not an outtake of Bonita Granville from "These Three," though I can understand how one could make that mistake. That is actually Janis Wilson, at 16, playing the Young Martha, who is the winner of this week's Raving Queen Bitch Of The Week Award!!!!!!!! But I just love her!
Janis has come a long way, in this film, from her heartrending performance as the emotionally disturbed Tina, in "Now, Voyager." Here, she will not accept that she is the product of trash, and keeps extolling her father, while Auntie wants her to be an Ivers. Young Martha keeps inferring her name is Smith. She clings to her cat, Bundles, who seems to be the only real source of love young Martha has. There are also these two sleazoids--Mr. O'Neill, and his son, Walter, played by Roman Bohnen (Jennifer Jones' father, from "The Song Of Bernadette!") and "Mickey Kuhn, (who, I believe, was Beau Wilkes in "Gone With The Wind," and the Sailor Boy who spies Blanche when she arrives in New Orleans in "A Streetcar Named Desire!") who are sniffing around, cajoling Auntie Ivers, so she will grant Walter money to go to Harvard. Oh, and there is also Lizabeth Scott, in one of her standard "trampy" roles, as Toni Marachek! This film has some cast!
Martha and her aunt do not get along, from the start. Martha insists her name is Smith, Auntie wants her groomed to be an Ivers. Some nerve Auntie has, since her own daughter turned out trash!!!!!!!!!! Things come to a head, when Young Martha and Sam run away, but they are caught by police, aided and abetted by Walter and his father! You have gotta see the confrontation scene between Martha and Auntie, when Judith Anderson smacks her across the face, and Martha doesn't flinch, but walks out of the room haughtily! I wish Martha had smacked her back, but, don't worry, Auntie gets hers.
Amidst a thunderstorm, Sam appears at Martha's window, and she lets him in. They plan to run away, but Sam says she has to stay. Martha opens her bedroom door, and Bundles, the cat gets out, sneaking down the stairs. Martha and Walter, knowing the aunt hates cats, goes to get him, but not before sadistic Judith Anderson confronts Martha on the stairs, and she and Walter witness the beating of the cat to death! Justifiably enraged, Martha grabs the cane from her aunt, whacks her on the head, which sends her crashing down the stairs, to her death! Yea! Get the old bitch!
This is why Young Martha is Bitch Of The Week! You just gotta love her for offing that bitch aunt! It takes one to know one, and to eliminate one!!!!!!!!!!
Beware of those who walk softly, but carry big sticks, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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