I had not heard of this until somewhat recently. It is an underrated and under-seen noir from the great Max Ophuls, with top-notch performances from Mason and Bennett.
Director Max Ophuls brings his mastery of “women’s pictures” to the film noir style with The Reckless Moment in which Joan Bennett plays Lucia Harper, a devoted mother whose daughter Bea (Geraldine Brooks) accidentally kills her older, shady boyfriend Darby (Shepperd Strudwick). To protect Bea, Lucia orchestrates what she thinks is a simple cover-up until a police investigation commences and Darby’s criminal contacts come looking for money. James Mason plays Donnelly, a blackmailer who fell off the straight path (“My mother wanted to make me a priest; she had five boys and had no idea I was the bad one”) and ends up falling for Lucia. The Reckless Moment shares tonality with Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943), particularly the small-town setting, wholesome family premise, and teen-aged daughter whose precocity disrupts it all. Devoted housekeeper Sybil (Frances E. Williams) plays a significant role in the story as Lucia’s advisor and confidante, including joining in the climactic car chase, yet she was shamefully not credited, presumably because she was black. A 2001 remake, The Deep End, replaces the daughter’s boyfriend with a son’s gay lover.
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