The Reckless Moment main backdrop
The Reckless Moment main poster

The Reckless Moment

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6.8/10 • 125

1949-12-091h 22m

DramaThriller

It could happen to so many married women!

After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.

Directors
Max Ophüls
Editors
Gene Havlick

Top Billed Cast

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  1. James Mason

    James Mason

    Martin Donnelly

  2. Joan Bennett

    Joan Bennett

    Lucia Harper

  3. Geraldine Brooks

    Geraldine Brooks

    Bea Harper

  4. Henry O'Neill

    Henry O'Neill

    Tom Harper

  5. Shepperd Strudwick

    Shepperd Strudwick

    Ted Darby

  6. David Bair

    David Bair

    David Harper

  7. Roy Roberts

    Roy Roberts

    Nagel

  8. Jessie Arnold

    Jessie Arnold

    Old Lady (uncredited)

  9. Al Bain

    Al Bain

    Man (uncredited)

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jul 9, 2022

7/10

What is it about folks in movies who find dead bodies? Rather than just call the police and rely on them to adequately do their jobs, they always find themselves embroiled in silly, self-inflicted plots that almost always cause far more trouble... Here is another such example. Joan Bennett is "Lucia", a rather bored housewife whose husband is always away, and whose young daughter "Bea" (Geraldine Brooks) is having a fling with the rather roguish "Ted" (Shepperd Strudwick). Her mother tries to put a stop to the relationship, be he wants paying off - she tells him to get lost. Next day, he confronts poor old "Bea" with the truth, a tussle ensues and soon "Ted" is down with the fishes, the daughter having tried to cover her tracks. Police find the corpse, and enter James Mason ("Donnelly") and his even more unscrupulous partner "Nagel" (Roy Roberts) who have some incriminating letters and want $5,000 to keep them from the investigation. Mother, determined to save her irresponsible child, tries to accommodate the blackmailer and over time their dynamic changes somewhat... It's quite a quirky story with two good performances - Mason, quite understated and Bennett measured - even when under quite a bit of pressure, and the direction from Max Opuls keeps the pace well. Sadly, he struggles to see it off the rocks of melodrama as we near the end, but even that is a bit different.

Media

  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster
  • The Reckless Moment poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
parent child relationshipfemme fatalefilm noirpreserved film