The Arnelo Affair Reviews

Arch Oboler's second film (following BEWITCHED) is half film noir, half psychological mystery--certainly not a whodunit, in that we know early in the film that the culprit is none other than Hodiak, a slick, evil-minded Chicago nightclub owner with whom Gifford falls in love. Her husband is rich lawyer Murphy, an affable type who is so above-board that he finds it impossible to believe that his wife would two-time him. Hodiak turns in a stellar performance as a thoroughly corrupt emotional sadist reveling in the hypnotic hold he has over Gifford, twisting her love for him in any direction whim dictates, murdering a former paramour who gets in the way of his new conquest, and almost driving Gifford to suicide before he is undone. The dialog is cleverly written and well delivered, so fast at times that one believes that it is accompanied by more action than really exists on the screen. Murphy is perfect as the trusting cuckold and Gifford, one of the reigning queens of B films in the 1940s, turns in a superlative performance as the transfixed female. Oboler's terse direction and Salerno's moody photography create a suspenseful and compelling film.