I am a big fan of the Film Noir genre, and enjoy what dark, gritty atmospheric tales they have to offer. They Won’t Believe Me from Warner Brothers is a one Noir that I had not been acquainted with as it was never available domestically on home video, until now.
They Won’t Believe Me is a Noir-drama about adultery. Married stockbroker Larry Ballentine (Robert Young, Crossfire) stands on trial pleading for his innocence concerning the death of his rich wife Greta (Rita Johnson, The Big Clock). Told in flashback, we learn what a snake Larry is. Unhappy in his marriage, he tries to run off with two women at different intervals. One woman Janice (Jane Greer, Out of the Past) is taken by his charm, and on the day they were to run away together and get married, he dumps her as Greta found out about them and arranged it so Larry is unable to see her. The same can be said for yet another woman Verna Carlson (screen legend Susan Hayward, I Want to Love) where he again schemes to marry Verna and dump Greta once and for all. Greta once again finds out about this affair and for the second time moves to another part of the country where she plans to keep Larry on a leash, leaving Verna behind. Larry, determined to marry Verna, plots one final way to dump Greta for Verna. This leads to sequences which involve car accidents, death and other surprising revelations. Because of how crazy and far-fetched the story Larry is pitching in the courtroom, he feels that “they”, as in the jury “won’t believe” him and will be jailed for life or much worse.
They Won’t Believe Me is a great film, more than worth the wait to finally see it. The cast is nothing short of excellent in their roles and hand in magnificent performances. The characters, along with the storyline will easily hold your interest. Robert Young’s character Larry Ballentine is about as sleazy and despicable as it gets when it comes to treating females. Jane Greer and Susan Hayward are all in top form glowing in sexuality that Larry cannot resist and causes the two women to suffer emotional (or not) because of Larry and his mischievous ways. Rita Johnson’s role as Greta is more on the calmer side as she keeps Larry in check by any means possible, despite how unhappy he is and knows he wants her money. She is fantastic as an emotionless wife! Let’s also not forget Larry’s antagonistic boss Trenton (Tom Powers, Double Indemnity) who has a major role in the story. Actor/director Irving Pichel(The Most Dangerous Game) has put together a classic, worth watching repeatedly.
Warner Archive debuts They Won’t Believe Me to Blu-ray. The film, as mentioned by Warner in their advertising has been given a brand new “HD master sourced from a 4K scan of nitrate preservation elements of the original 95-minute release version”. You bet your life the image looks outstanding with a clean looking black and white image. The high contrast levels contribute to the film looking as rich as it does along with a balanced grey scale and deep black levels. Details to the scenery, shot by cinematographer Harry J. Wild are breathtaking. Film grain is present throughout the presentation, and no DNR or other artificial enhancements appear to have been applied.
Regarding the audio, Warner Archive’s Blu-ray of They Won’t Believe Me has to gone with an English DTS-HD Master dual-mono 2.0 soundtrack. The film’s dialogue is clear, but slightly on the subdued side, with much of the aggressive sounds coming from the music by Roy Webb and action noises which include a big-time car crash, a gunshot, and even some screams from the courtroom. The audio is devoid of any hissing, pops or other issues. English subtitles are available for this release.
The Warner Archive Blu-ray offer no extras at all, which is unfortunate for those wanting to know a little something about the making of this film and why it took so long arrive on home video in the USA!
Overall, Warner Archive has outdone themselves in this release in the audio and video department. I would not pass this release up due to it being a barebones release. They Won’t Believe Me is much too good a film to not own for any collector of Noirs! This is a highly recommended release, and, yes, you can believe that!
The Won’t Believe Me
Director- Irving Pichel
Cast- Robert Young, Susan Hayward, Jane Greer
Country of Origin- US
Distributor –Warner Archive Collection / Warner Brothers
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date-5/31/21