Ivy

In Sam Wood’s under-appreciated Ivy, Joan Fontaine plays social climber Ivy Lexton, who enacts a highly efficient ploy to rid herself of both her penniless husband Jervis (Richard Ney) and obsessive lover Roger Gretorex (Patric Knowles) so she can marry the much wealthier Miles Rushworth (Herbert Marshall) and live like an Edwardian princess. (Just like in Otto Preminger’s 1944 Laura, a grandfather clock is essential to solving the crime.) The film is gorgeously made: despite the famous grandiosity of producer Menzies, Wood and cinematographer Russell Metty utilize intimate sets with often claustrophobic compositions, the singular exception a fireworks display outside an estate ball during which Ivy makes out with her fantasy husband. The sets and lighting, especially at night, establish a consistent mood of tension and deceit (the scenes on Marshall’s yacht are beautifully shot amidst power outages, thunderstorms, and stunning silhouettes), while unique camera placement often wonderfully illustrates Ivy’s shame, such as when she’s asked to replenish her husband’s glass of brandy while his back is to the camera, when the camera stays with the bottles as she mixes the drink, etc., each accompanied by the distinctive harpsichord melody that reminds us she’s up to no good.