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Made in the same year as Rashomon, whose ambiguous multiple perspective it shares, Anthony Asquith’s murder mystery has a real feel for film noir mood, says Alex Davidson.

Made the same year as Rashomon yet almost forgotten in the annals of British cinema, Anthony Asquith’s The Woman in Question follows a similar conceit to Kurosawa’s film. Jean Kent plays Astra, a character who dominates the movie despite her murder before the action begins. As the police begin to gather evidence, they interview the people who knew her, and several different sides to her character emerge. Her sister describes a wanton tramp, a kindly older man recalls a charming waif and others paint different views of her character. But who is the murderer, and what was their motive?

Seen in the numerous flashbacks, Kent has a grand time, seizing the opportunity to play so many varied roles, sweetly saccharine when playing the good girl, vamping it up when playing the reverse. Like Brighton Rock, Asquith’s film has a real feel for noir mood, and uses its seedy seaside atmosphere brilliantly. With a cast boasting stand-out turns from a young Dirk Bogarde and a scene-stealing Hermione Baddeley, The Woman in Question is a superior murder mystery for fans of film noir.

 

Alex Davidson on 30th June 2010
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