Margaret Lockwood was a young British actress who was brought to Hollywood in the late 30s but didn't make good, however when she returned she became Britain's most popular actress of the 1940s - until Anna Neagle came along. Hard to believe that in 1950 she was only to make 6 more films and "Cast a Dark Shadow" proved to be her last film until 1976's "The Slipper and the Rose". Lockwood found television very lucrative and with "Cast a Dark Shadow" was offered one of her finest film character parts. Gone were the beautiful, evil vixens of her younger acting days - here she played a good humoured publican's widow, a touch on the vulgar side who is more than a match for unscrupulous psychopath, the charming Teddy Bare (Dirk Bogarde). Adapted from the play "Murder Mistaken" by Janet Green who was responsible for writing some first class scripts that were turned into some gripping films - "Lost", "Sapphire", Life for Ruth", any of which are worth hunting for.
Teddy is searching for Dora, the sister of his late wife and the one who will inherit all of Molly's money. You see Teddy murdered Molly (Mona Washbourne) because he thought the will she was about to make would leave him out in the cold, little did he know that she was going to leave him everything - but he didn't give her a chance to. Still, the circumstances managed to convince the court that it was all a ghastly accident. He doesn't convince Phillip (Robert Flemyng), Molly's lawyer, and he cautions Teddy that he had better watch his step.
Before long he meets Freda (Lockwood) a coarse ex barmaid with a loud sense of humour who definitely has Teddy's measure "pound for pound" (that's how they are going to conduct their finances, as Teddy gives her to believe that he is wealthy and bored) She is pretty nice and straight forward and after their wedding her first job is to see that Emmy (Kathleen Harrison) is put right - Teddy has managed to convince her that the legacy Molly has left her is really "wages in advance" - charming chap!!! Trouble in paradise, Teddy is keen for Freda to invest in a cinema but she is not having a bar of it. Into all this walks wealthy Charlotte (Kay Walsh) who is on the lookout to invest heavily in property. As Freda says "isn't it a pity that you saw me first"!!!
Charlotte has a secret of her own - not hard to guess what as she seems transfixed by the fireplace where Molly was found dead and the ending is highly dramatic as Charlotte confesses that she has looked into his past, speaking to teachers and childhood friends and the picture she paints is quite ugly.
Margaret Lockwood is just tremendous as Freda, especially as I had only seen her at the height of her beauty. Both she and Bogarde were singled out for praise with Variety citing their vivid characterizations, although I thought Kay Walsh was quite effective in her showy but smaller role. This should have opened the door for Lockwood as a character actress but she decided to stay in Britain and Britain seemed uninterested. She went back to the more appreciative stage and television, where in 1958 she appeared in "Murder Mistaken".
Highly Recommended.
Teddy is searching for Dora, the sister of his late wife and the one who will inherit all of Molly's money. You see Teddy murdered Molly (Mona Washbourne) because he thought the will she was about to make would leave him out in the cold, little did he know that she was going to leave him everything - but he didn't give her a chance to. Still, the circumstances managed to convince the court that it was all a ghastly accident. He doesn't convince Phillip (Robert Flemyng), Molly's lawyer, and he cautions Teddy that he had better watch his step.
Before long he meets Freda (Lockwood) a coarse ex barmaid with a loud sense of humour who definitely has Teddy's measure "pound for pound" (that's how they are going to conduct their finances, as Teddy gives her to believe that he is wealthy and bored) She is pretty nice and straight forward and after their wedding her first job is to see that Emmy (Kathleen Harrison) is put right - Teddy has managed to convince her that the legacy Molly has left her is really "wages in advance" - charming chap!!! Trouble in paradise, Teddy is keen for Freda to invest in a cinema but she is not having a bar of it. Into all this walks wealthy Charlotte (Kay Walsh) who is on the lookout to invest heavily in property. As Freda says "isn't it a pity that you saw me first"!!!
Charlotte has a secret of her own - not hard to guess what as she seems transfixed by the fireplace where Molly was found dead and the ending is highly dramatic as Charlotte confesses that she has looked into his past, speaking to teachers and childhood friends and the picture she paints is quite ugly.
Margaret Lockwood is just tremendous as Freda, especially as I had only seen her at the height of her beauty. Both she and Bogarde were singled out for praise with Variety citing their vivid characterizations, although I thought Kay Walsh was quite effective in her showy but smaller role. This should have opened the door for Lockwood as a character actress but she decided to stay in Britain and Britain seemed uninterested. She went back to the more appreciative stage and television, where in 1958 she appeared in "Murder Mistaken".
Highly Recommended.