This Was a Woman - 1948

It must've been manipulative woman night, because after watching Christabel in Born to Be Bad, I had Sylvia in this movie.

Sylvia feels stifled and her potential has been held back. So she exerts power on the few things she can: the people in her household. She is always taking little jabs at her husband "oh dear, you made a mistake" "oh your memory." And she can't let go of the children either. She does everything she can to ruin her daughter's marriage, but Terry doesn't want to bring anyone home where his mother can get to them.

She does these little "mistakes" that she knows are hugely important to her husband. She cuts his prize roses and tries to have his dog put to sleep (by the way the vet acted, I'm pretty sure he didn't put Ace to sleep). On the eve of her daughter's wedding, she has this strange talk with her so Fenella doesn't want her new husband to touch her. Then, Sylvia starts to groom the new maid by giving her hair tips and smutty novels to read. When Sylvia sees her plan working, she pushes Fenella to witness the kiss, and it all blows up.

Terry isn't as prone to these things, and his mother doesn't seem to try with him. After her husband's successful friend arrives, she uses him to get the children away for a while. During that time, Fenella is able to sort out what happened and her mother's role in it, and Terry helps her push past it. When they come back, they find their father on death's door. Sylvia is hoping to get him out of the way and be with the successful friend, but she soon learns she can't have everything she wants.

Her secret is discovered by her own son. He confronts her, and she goes on a rant about how she had the power of life and death in her hands. Then she mockingly asks if he's going to have her hanged. He says he's going to have her put away for life, where she'll have no power over anyone again. For years and years. Her face is great at that point. It's an 'oh no' moment for her.

I actually liked this movie. Now this is justice I can get behind. The daughter turned out all right as did her marriage. Terry is a smart young man who can now pursue Sally without having to worry about Mother. Now all they needed was to go find Ace and make it a truly happy family again. Just kidding. They need to torch the house (or I suppose selling it would work as well) and start over somewhere else. Anyway, this one gets a Good Movie! review. (But not the poster. The poster is super creepy!)