The Second Woman (1951)
Director - James Kern
The Plot
Architect Jeff Cohalan (Robert Young) has been tormented by a string of bad luck. His fiancé was killed the night before their wedding. His horse dies. His dog dies. His post-modern masterpiece of a coastal home burns. His architectural plans for a new hospital disappear. Is he cursed? Is he crazy? Or is someone out to destroy him?
Film Notes
Entertaining Minor League Hitchcock
The Second Woman has game ambitions, but at best reaches the level of a minor-league Hitchcock film. That however doesn't mean it's not more than worth a viewing. Though the film sometimes seems slow, the story continues to pull on the attention.
Director James Kern and Pioneer cinematographer Hal Mohr provide the film with a fluid and atmospheric look that captures an ever-shifting California coast that mirrors the psychological mystery of Robert Young's subtly paranoid personality. The film is stark black and white, but the mood and plot use shades of grey.
Robert Young Doesn't Know Best, But He Tries Hard
Robert Young, best known for his roles as the all knowing Father Knows Best and Marcus Welby MD, attempts a modulated, but complex approach to his role in The Second Woman. In the end, his ambitious interpretation is beyond the reach of his limited talents (though the script is also to blame). Never-the-less, he is interesting to watch.
Russian to Conclusions
Russian composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky died in 1893, but that did not stop Hollywood from making tremendous use of his work in films of the 1940s and 50s. The Second Woman is just one of those films.
I Love Trivia
- Veteran director James Kern directed the entire 5th season of I Love Lucy. The Second Woman was the last film he directed.
- Betsy Drake was married to Cary Grant when she made The Second Woman.
-- Ed Schneider
Cast & Production Credits
| Robert Young | Jeff Cohalan |
| Betsy Drake | Ellen Foster |
| Florence Bates | Amelia Foster |
| Morris Carnovsky | Dr. Hartley |
| Henry O'Neill | Ben Sheppard |
| Jean Rogers | Dodo Ferris |
| Raymond Largay | Maj. Badger |
| Shirley Ballard | Vivian Sheppard |
| Vicki Raaf | Secretary |
| Jason Robards, Sr. | Stacy Rogers |
| Steven Geray | Balthazar Jones |
| Jimmy Dodd | Mr. Nelson |
| Smoki Whitfield | Porter |
| Produced by United Artists | |
| James Kern | Director |
| Mort Briskin | Producer / Screenwriter |
| Robert Smith | Producer / Screenwriter |
| Hal Mohr | Cinematographer |
| Nathaniel W. Finston | Musical Direction / Supervision / Composer (Music Score) |
| Joseph Nusbaum | Musical Direction / Supervision |
| Walter Thompson | Editor |
| Boris Leven | Production Designer |
| Joseph H. Nadel | Associate Producer |
| Harry M. Popkin | Executive Producer |
| Jacque Mapes | Set Designer |
| Maria P. Donovan | Costume Designer |
| Mac Dalgleish | Sound / Sound Designer |
| Ben Winkler | Sound / Sound Designer |
| Henry Vilardo | Makeup |
| Maurie M. Suess | First Assistant Director |
