IMDb RATING
7.1/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
Just before a wedding, the bridegroom hears a complex tale painting his lovely bride as devilish and unbalanced.Just before a wedding, the bridegroom hears a complex tale painting his lovely bride as devilish and unbalanced.Just before a wedding, the bridegroom hears a complex tale painting his lovely bride as devilish and unbalanced.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Sheridan Gibney
- Norma Barzman(uncredited)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Sheridan Gibney
- Norma Barzman(uncredited)
- Stars
Mari Aldon
- Maryas Mary
- (uncredited)
Polly Bailey
- The Cookas The Cook
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Sheridan Gibney
- Norma Barzman(uncredited)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Lovely Nancy seems like the ideal bride to fiancée John Willis... until, just before the ceremony, Willis is approached by Harry Blair, claiming to be Nancy's former husband. The tale Blair unfolds (in a flashback within a flashback within a flashback!) paints Nancy as a kleptomaniac, habitual liar, and perhaps worse. But is Blair telling the truth? And does fate have another surprise in store? —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
- deception
- flashback within a flashback
- flashback within a flashback within a flashback
- suspected thief
- suspicion of murder
- 84 more
- Taglines
- Her Mysterious Secret Wrecked 3 Men's Lives! Not love, not money...but a haunting hunger drove her to lie, cheat, steal. Why? IT'S THE STRANGEST SECRET EVER TOLD! (original poster)
- Genres
- Certificate
- Approved
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaNorma Barzman's lengthy treatment for this film, which Sheridan Gibney revised into a screenplay, was inspired by a true event which was recounted to her by financier George Peabody Gardner and his sister Belle. When younger, the Gardners eschewed their aristocratic upbringing partly in reaction to an incident in their youth. As children they became friendly with the daughter of the family's housekeeper. It transpired that the daughter was wrongly accused of stealing a locket, leading to the firing and departure of the housekeeper and daughter. Years later, it was learned that the daughter suffered from depression and was implicated in a theft, a consequence for which the Gardners felt their family was partly responsible.
- GoofsAmerican ambulances - shown driven with left hand drive - were not used in wartime London.
- Quotes
Nancy MOnks: Okay... you be the dropper, I'll be the deer!
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Fatale beauté (1994)
Top review
Very solid melodrama, well filmed, great pace
The Locket (1946)
Well, when you have a post-war movie with Robert Mitchum at his young prime, you can't go wrong.
The star (or starlet, as they used to say) is actress Laraine Day playing Nancy, and she pulls off a charming, attentive, smart perfect woman. A bride to be, in fact. The movie starts with people arrive to a high class wedding. Mitchum shows up via flashback (classic film noir stuff). In fact, there is a flashback within a flashback within a flashback (4 levels) and it's sort of fun.
There are some great lines like, "If you'e lucky you can afford to be nice." But some of the dialog, and maybe the plot overall, is a hair stiff at times.
Director John Brahm is not well known, but his "Hangover Square" the year before is really great. And this one shows a consistent sense of storytelling and drama with highs and lows if not always fully developed characters. The key character is Nancy, who uses her charm to win over the audience as well as the men around her in the plot. Day plays her role perfectly—swiveling sweetness against a just perceptible insincerity. She's a terrific liar.
Which brings me back to Mitchum, who is good but seems to be reading rehearsed lines too often. I think there was supposed to be chemistry between Day and Mitchum, but it wasn't there, even though they both look terribly good.
Though it has a noir-like flavor, this strikes me as a straight up melodrama overall, and with soaring music and lots of dramatic lighting there is no way to not get absorbed in it. There are some short but well done scenes of London during the war (bombs and blackouts).
A well done and lesser known good one. And a fun curiosity—the crazed music box music that denotes an uneven state of mind is the same as that used in the "Bad Seed."
Well, when you have a post-war movie with Robert Mitchum at his young prime, you can't go wrong.
The star (or starlet, as they used to say) is actress Laraine Day playing Nancy, and she pulls off a charming, attentive, smart perfect woman. A bride to be, in fact. The movie starts with people arrive to a high class wedding. Mitchum shows up via flashback (classic film noir stuff). In fact, there is a flashback within a flashback within a flashback (4 levels) and it's sort of fun.
There are some great lines like, "If you'e lucky you can afford to be nice." But some of the dialog, and maybe the plot overall, is a hair stiff at times.
Director John Brahm is not well known, but his "Hangover Square" the year before is really great. And this one shows a consistent sense of storytelling and drama with highs and lows if not always fully developed characters. The key character is Nancy, who uses her charm to win over the audience as well as the men around her in the plot. Day plays her role perfectly—swiveling sweetness against a just perceptible insincerity. She's a terrific liar.
Which brings me back to Mitchum, who is good but seems to be reading rehearsed lines too often. I think there was supposed to be chemistry between Day and Mitchum, but it wasn't there, even though they both look terribly good.
Though it has a noir-like flavor, this strikes me as a straight up melodrama overall, and with soaring music and lots of dramatic lighting there is no way to not get absorbed in it. There are some short but well done scenes of London during the war (bombs and blackouts).
A well done and lesser known good one. And a fun curiosity—the crazed music box music that denotes an uneven state of mind is the same as that used in the "Bad Seed."
helpful•40
- secondtake
- Aug 8, 2017
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- What Nancy Wanted
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content

Recently viewed
Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.