{"id":3256,"date":"2007-05-26T08:58:21","date_gmt":"2007-05-26T15:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3256"},"modified":"2022-02-21T15:09:42","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T22:09:42","slug":"woman-on-the-beach-the-1947","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3256","title":{"rendered":"Woman on the Beach, The (1947)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;If I could prove to you that Tod wasn&#8217;t really blind, would you leave him?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/Woman-On-the-Beach-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/Woman-On-the-Beach-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-23331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/Woman-On-the-Beach-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/Woman-On-the-Beach-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/Woman-On-the-Beach-Poster.jpg 496w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA shell-shocked veteran (Robert Ryan) engaged to a local girl (Nan Leslie) falls for the seductive wife (Joan Bennett) of a recently blinded painter (Charles Bickford). Soon Ryan becomes convinced that Bickford isn&#8217;t really blind, and sets out to prove this to Bennett.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blindness<\/li>\n<li>Charles Bickford Films<\/li>\n<li>Femmes Fatales<\/li>\n<li>Jean Renoir Films<\/li>\n<li>Joan Bennett Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Robert Ryan Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nJean Renoir was forced to drastically edit <em>Woman on the Beach<\/em>, his final American film; the result is an atmospheric yet narratively flawed <em>noir<\/em> romance. As many have noted, there&#8217;s (sadly) potential here for something much greater, with Bennett and Ryan giving particularly noteworthy performances as the would-be lovers; but the script fails them (and us) by neglecting to elaborate upon either&#8217;s motivations. With that said, Renoir&#8217;s unique directorial touch remains a pleasure to watch, and there are several powerful moments scattered throughout the film: Ryan leading Bickford along the cliffs in an attempt to prove that he isn&#8217;t really blind; Ryan and Bennett viewing Bickford&#8217;s approach through the porthole of an abandoned ship; Bickford and Bennett discussing their enduring &#8212; if dysfunctional &#8212; love for each other. It&#8217;s too bad that none of the edited footage from this overly-short 70-minute film remains, because a reconstruction of Renoir&#8217;s original vision seems in order. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Joan Bennett as the seductive femme fatale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Bennett.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Bennett.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-63787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Bennett.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Bennett-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Bennett-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Bennett-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Robert Ryan as the smitten veteran<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Ryan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Ryan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-63786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Ryan.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Ryan-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Ryan-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Ryan-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Creative direction, heightening the love triangle tensions<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Cinematography.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Cinematography.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-63788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Cinematography.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Cinematography-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Cinematography-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/WOTB-Cinematography-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s recommended for <em>noir<\/em> fans. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0040000\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1947\/06\/09\/archives\/the-screen-in-review.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/96169\/the-woman-on-the-beach#articles-reviews?articleId=92472\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/64759.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If I could prove to you that Tod wasn&#8217;t really blind, would you leave him?&#8221; Synopsis: A shell-shocked veteran (Robert Ryan) engaged to a local girl (Nan Leslie) falls for the seductive wife (Joan Bennett) of a recently blinded painter (Charles Bickford). Soon Ryan becomes convinced that Bickford isn&#8217;t really blind, and sets out to prove this to Bennett. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Blindness Charles Bickford Films Femmes Fatales Jean Renoir Films Joan Bennett Films Love Triangle Robert Ryan&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3256\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3256"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81518,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3256\/revisions\/81518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}