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They Won't Believe Me

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6.6/10 • 45

1947-07-161h 35m

DramaRomance

He lived a lie that led him from one disastrous love to another!

On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.

Directors
Irving Pichel
Editors
Elmo Williams

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Robert Young

    Robert Young

    Larry Ballentine

  2. Susan Hayward

    Susan Hayward

    Verna Carlson

  3. Jane Greer

    Jane Greer

    Janice Bell

  4. Rita Johnson

    Rita Johnson

    Greta Ballentine

  5. Tom Powers

    Tom Powers

    Trenton

  6. George Tyne

    George Tyne

    Lieutenant Carr

  7. Don Beddoe

    Don Beddoe

    Thomason

  8. Frank Ferguson

    Frank Ferguson

    Mr. Cahill

  9. Harry Harvey

    Harry Harvey

    Judge Charles Fletcher

Reviews2

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Nov 13, 2014

8/10

Touched by the hand of God/Satan. They Won't Believe Me is directed by Irving Pichel and adapted to screenplay by Jonathan Latimer from a story by Gordon McDonell. It stars Robert Young, Susan Hayward, Jane Greer and Rita Johnson. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Harry J. Wild. Larry Ballentine (Young) is on trial for murder and he tells his story in flashback. Three dames and fate does not a good mix make. "She looked like a very special kind of dynamite, neatly wrapped in nylon and silk. Only I wasn't having any. I'd been too close to one explosion already. I was powder shy". A splendid slice of noir drama is put together by a group of film makers who knew how to make the noir style of film making work. The story has all the requisite ingredients to lure the interested viewers in, twists and turns, vipers and snipers, dialogue so sharp you could cut a steak with it, and a love rat protagonist (Young splendid in a break from his normal roles) being toyed with by Old Noir Nick and his friend The Fate. In true noir tradition the plot is a little "out there", the middle section drags at times, while Harry Wild's cinematography doesn't kick in till a good hour into the play (worth the wait though!). But this is a little noir treasure waiting to be seen by more people. It's not unknown, the cast list ensures that is not the case, but in film noir circles it doesn't often crop up for discussion. It should, for it's tricky and devilish and pays off with a finale straight out of noirville. 8/10

Media

  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster
  • They Won't Believe Me poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
film noirwife murder