A widow murders quietly
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A widow murders quietly |
| Original title | What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1969 |
| length | 101 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Lee H. Katzin Bernard Girard (not mentioned) |
| script | Theodore Apstein |
| production | Robert Aldrich |
| music | Gerald Fried |
| camera | Joseph F. Biroc |
| cut | Frank J. Urioste |
| occupation | |
| |
A widow murders quietly is an American crime film from 1969 . The film is based on the crime novel Die Pappelallee by Ursula Curtiss .
action
Mr. Josef Marrable dies after a long illness and his widow, Mrs. Clare Marrable, thinks she is on the verge of inheriting his fortune. But the notary Mr. Bentley confesses to her that nothing was left, except a few belongings, including a stamp album. Mrs. Marrable thinks she's broke. So one night she kills her housekeeper, buries her in her garden and plants a tree over her corpse. From now on she lives with the new housekeeper Mrs. Edna Tinsley in her house. When she asks one day to find out what happened to her savings, which Mrs. Marrable invested for her at the New York Stock Exchange , she is also killed in the garden at night, buried and a tree is planted over her corpse. Then it is officially said that she had to be released because of alcohol problems.
Mrs. Dimmock, a single widow with no family and great savings, becomes Mrs. Marrable's new housekeeper. She also has to watch as the previously abandoned hut on the neighboring property is rented for three months by the single mother Harriet Vaughn with her son Jim. Mrs. Marrable absolutely displeases that. And strangely enough, her house is also being watched by an unknown man with a GT 500 KR. It's Mike Darrah from Phoenix , Arizona . He and Harriet soon get to know each other and begin a relationship. Meanwhile, Mrs. Marrable tries to kill Chloe, the dog of the Vaughns, who previously barked several times at the graves of the deceased housekeepers, but she fails.
Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Dimmock and Mrs. Marrable clash. They argue violently and Mrs. Dimmock begins to believe that Mrs. Marrable killed Mrs. Tinsley. This results in Mrs. Marrable calling the previous references to find out how Mrs. Dimmock was doing with her previous employers. She also calls Mike Darrah, who confirms her references. Mike is also concerned about Mrs. Dimmock, so he asks her to quit her job. But Mrs. Dimmock blames herself for Tinsley's death, so she wants to clear the case. She asks Mike to check how much money is left in Mrs. Tinsley's bank account. After learning that there had previously been a major withdrawal of $ 9,000 , she has suspicions and asks Mrs. Marrable to invest her savings of $ 46,000 in the stock market as well. Despite being impressed by the potential money, Mrs. Marrable suspects and searches Mrs. Dimmock's personal belongings and learns that Dimmock and Tinsley knew each other.
For the next day she is planning a trip to New Mexico with Mrs. Dimmock to be able to invest the money. At night Mrs. Dimmock tries to call Mike on the phone. After being interrupted by Mrs. Marrable and hearing her suspicions, Mrs. Dimmock confesses that she lived with Mrs. Tinsley for years, that she doesn't believe a word of Marrable's story and that she will uncover everything. After showering Mrs. Marrable with hot water, she tries to escape. But since all windows and doors are locked and secured, she cannot escape and after a short fight with a telephone she is knocked down by Mrs. Marrable. The next morning Mrs. Marrable takes a cardigan and Mrs. Dimmock's wig, drives the car and her to the lake. There she lets the car sink. Shortly thereafter, the Sheriff, Harriet, Mike and the Lawsons appear and inform Mrs. Marrable that Mrs. Dimmock is drowning in the lake.
After Mrs. Dinnock is moved out of the way, Mrs. Marrable begs Harriet to join her at dinner because she is so lonely. In doing so, she drugged the two of them and burned their house, along with the dog Chleo. The next morning she wakes up frightened after being woken up by the dog barking. She runs to the window and is shocked to find that the police have already dug up the garden and discovered the bodies. Mike had previously made the police aware of this through his urging. Harriet, Jim and Chleo survived the fire. Jim then gives her the stamp album previously given by Mrs. Marrable, as he is not allowed to have any gifts from bad people, even if these gifts are worth over 100,000 US dollars. Mrs. Marrable is shocked when she hears the sum because her husband Josef left her a fortune.
criticism
"Quirky, theatrical and photographically cultivated entertainment film in which the criminalistic-satirical tragic comedy is only partially recognizable."
"Thriller, which is excellently cast in the two female leading roles, but by no means achieves the format of the apparently sought- after role model of the ' Ladykiller '."
publication
The film had its world premiere on July 23, 1969 in New York City . In Germany it was shown in cinemas on February 13, 1970.
Web links
- A widow murders quietly in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- A widow murders quietly at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ A widow murders quietly. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association, Munich, Review No. 73/1970