Another Man's Poison

Another Man's Poison

Infobox Film
name = Another Man's Poison


image_size = 175px
caption = Original poster
director = Irving Rapper
producer = Daniel M. Angel
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
writer = Val Guest
starring = Bette Davis
Gary Merrill
Emlyn Williams
Anthony Steel
Barbara Murray
music = John Greenwood
Paul Sawtell
cinematography = Robert Krasker
editing = Gordon Hales
distributor = Eros Films Ltd. (UK)
United Artists (US)
released = flagicon|UK November 20, 1951
flagicon|US January 6, 1952
flagicon|Sweden April 14
flagicon|Finland November 21
flagicon|Denmark February 23, 1953
runtime = 90 min.
country = UK
language = English
amg_id = 1:83792
imdb_id = 0044364

"Another Man's Poison" is a 1951 British drama film directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Val Guest is based on the play "Deadlock" by Leslie Sands, adapted from Émile Zola's 1868 novel "Thérèse Raquin".

Plot

Successful mystery novelist Janet Frobisher, who has been separated for years from her husband, a man with a criminal past, lives in an isolated home in England. Her nearest neighbor is nosy veterinarian Dr. Henderson. Janet falls in love and occasionally dabbles with her secretary Chris' fiancé Larry, who is years younger than she. When her estranged husband unexpectedly appears, Janet poisons him by administering horse mediciation given to her by her neighbor. One of the deceased man's criminal cohorts arrives as she's preparing to dispose of the body in the local lake. When Frobisher's secretary and Larry arrive at the secluded house, the mysterious man, who has assisted her with her scheme, impersonates the long-absent spouse of Janet, who plots to get rid of her unplanned accomplice, as well.

Production notes

Of the project, star Bette Davis recalled, "We had nothing but script trouble. Gary [Merril] and I often wondered why we agreed to make this film after we got started working on it. Emlyn [Williams] rewrote many scenes for us, which gave it some plausibility, but we never cured the basic ills of the story." ["Mother Goddam" by Whitney Stine, with a running commentary by Bette Davis, Hawthorn Books, 1974, pg. 241 (ISBN 0-8015-5184-6)]

This was the second on-screen pairing of then-married couple Davis and Gary Merrill, following "All About Eve" the previous year.

Rapper, who was selected by Davis to helm the film, had directed her in "Now, Voyager" ten years earlier.

Co-star and script doctor Emlyn Williams wrote the original play on which Davis' 1945 film "The Corn Is Green" was based.

Exteriors of the United Artists release were filmed on location in Malham, North Yorkshire, and interiors were shot at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

Principal cast

*Bette Davis ..... Janet Frobisher
*Gary Merrill ..... George Bates
*Emlyn Williams ..... Dr. Henderson
*Anthony Steel ..... Larry Stevens
*Barbara Murray ..... Chris Dale
*Reginald Beckwith ..... Mr. Bigley
*Edna Morris ..... Mrs. Bunting

Principal production credits

*Producer ..... Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Daniel M. Angel
*Original Music ..... John Greenwood (UK release), Paul Sawtell (US release)
*Cinematography ..... Robert Krasker
*Art Direction ..... Cedric Dawe
*Costume Design ..... Julie Harris

Critical reception

The "New York Times" described the film as "a garrulous but occasionally interesting excursion into murder and unrequited love . . . the script . . . is basically a static affair that rarely escapes from its sets or the scenarist's verbosity. Suspense is only fitfully generated and then quickly dissipated . . . Gary Merrill contributes a thoroughly seasoned and convincing portrayal . . . Emlyn Williams adds a professionally polished characterization . . . and Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray are adequate . . . However, "Another Man's Poison" is strictly Bette Davis' meat. She is permitted a wide latitude of histrionics in delineating the designing neurotic who is as flinty a killer as any we've seen in the recent past." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9801E4DA1F3BE23BBC4F53DFB7668389649EDE "New York Times" review] ]

In his review in "New Statesman and Nation", Frank Hauser wrote, "No one has ever accused Bette Davis of failing to rise to a good script; what this film shows is how far she can go to meet a bad one." [ [http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=27959 "Another Man's Poison" at Turner Classic Movies] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044364/ "Another Man's Poison" at the Internet Movie Database]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • one man’s meat is another man’s poison — Cf. LUCRETIUS De Rerum Natura IV. 637 quod ali cibus est aliis fuat acre venenum, what is food to one person may be bitter poison to others. c 1576 T. WHYTHORNE Autobiography (1961) 203 On bodies meat iz an otherz poizon. 1604 Plato’s Cap B4 That …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • one man's meat is another man's poison — one man’s meat is another man’s poison mainly spoken phrase used for saying that not everyone likes the same things Thesaurus: difference and differencessynonym Main entry: meat * * * proverb things liked or enjoyed by one person may be… …   Useful english dictionary

  • one man's meat is another man's poison — What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another. A proverb, * /Even though Jeff likes to swim in ice cold water, his brother Tun hates it. This is understandable, however, because one s man s meat is another man s poison./… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • one man's meat is another man's poison — What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another. A proverb, * /Even though Jeff likes to swim in ice cold water, his brother Tun hates it. This is understandable, however, because one s man s meat is another man s poison./… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • one\ man's\ meat\ is\ another\ man's\ poison — proverb What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another. Even though Jeff likes to swim in ice cold water, his brother tun hates it. this is understandable, however, because one s man s meat is another man s poison. Contrast: what …   Словарь американских идиом

  • one man's meat is another man's poison — one person likes what another person hates, to each his own    Some people love his music; others hate it. One man s meat is another man s poison …   English idioms

  • One man's meat is another man's poison. — something that you say which means that something one person likes very much can be something that another person does not like at all. I wouldn t want to do her job, but she seems to love it. Oh well, one man s meat is another man s poison …   New idioms dictionary

  • one man's meat is another man's poison — This idiom means that one person can like something very much, but another can hate it …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • one man's meat is another man's poison — ► one man s meat is another man s poison proverb things liked or enjoyed by one person may be distasteful to another. Main Entry: ↑meat …   English terms dictionary

  • one man's meat is another man's poison — what is good for one person is not good for another …   English contemporary dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”