The Strange Woman (1946)

beyondtheforest at IMDB wrote:

What I find most fascinating about Jenny Hager (Hedy Lamarr's character) in THE STRANGE WOMAN, is the sympathy with which she is portrayed. Hedy Lamarr's performance was brilliant; in her hands, the character is not completely evil, but possesses a humanity and vulnerability which makes her a puzzle of complexities, contradictions, and (as another reviewer described her) fickleness.

Jenny Hager is an extremely fascinating character. Her character, in the film, is not necessarily psychotic, but deeply troubled and complex. There is a sense that she is not always in control of her actions. She is good and evil at the same time. She simultaneously gives to the poor, helps others, and yet plots the ruin and murder of others, as she stalks after certain men. There are similarities between Jenny Hager and Scarlett O'Hara, but Jenny's intentions and the root of her flaws are much darker and more mysterious.

Perhaps the reason Jenny Hager is such a disturbing character is because she has a conscience. So often in films, femme fatales are portrayed to have no conscience, no sense of compassion for others, and yet Jenny does. The most disturbing suggestion made throughout the film is that we can be aware of doing evil things and yet we still do them, and that some of us have no control over the dark forces which cause us to purposely hurt others.

As another reviewer wrote, Jenny probably did not deserve her tragic fate at the end of the film. Her husband and best friend had both forgiven her for her cruelties, and her husband was coming back to her because he loved her. Jenny's offers the memorable line, "Maybe love has made Jenny the good person people always thought she was." And we hope this is true. Jenny was sorry for her actions, felt remorse about them, and yet her death was her own doing; again propelled to commit evil beyond her control, which ended in her own demise.

Hedy Lamarr was magnificent. The final closeup was her most stirring. Edgar G. Ulmer's direction was revolutionary. The photography, costumes, and set design were still fresh after all these years, and if you ever get the opportunity, take a look at the glorious original poster art and read the poetic tag-lines for the film, some of the most creative and creepy advertising ever.