The Arnelo Affair (1947)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Powerful

Excellent adaptation.

Don't Believe the Hype

"The Arnelo Affair" is like a pig wearing a Chanel dress. It's a lovely dress....but you still have a pig hiding underneath. So, while the movie looks nice since it was made by the top studio of the day, at its heart the film is unappealing.Mr. and Mrs. Parkson (George Murphy and Frances Gifford) appear to be a happy and successful couple. After all, he's a lawyer, they have a cute son (Dean Stockwell) and have a lot going for them...except Mr. Parkson is about as romantic as a punch in the kidneys! Considering how much he neglects his wife, it's not surprising that Anne would be drawn to Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak)...a suave thug who runs a swank nightclub. On the pretense of going to his apartment to give him decorating ideas, Anne goes alone to Arnelo's...and he tries to woo her. She never says yes, she never says no...and seems like a bit of a milquetoast, actually. Later, she comes to his apartment again and witnesses him slapping around an actress...and Anne stomps off due to his boorish behavior.The next day, the newspaper says that the same actress was found dead...and Anne is pretty sure Arnelo did it. EVERYTHING she does from her on in the film makes zero sense and made me question whether or not the character was supposed to be suffering from a head injury or a case of indigestion. Regardless, Frances Gifford delivers a confusing mess of a character--some, no doubt, due to bad writing. And, by this point, the film completely lost me. Bad dialog, confusing and irrational characters and a script that seems like it never even went through re-writes or revisions make this a very difficult film to finish. It does look great...but is a mess nevertheless.

Okay crime drama is helped by the competence of the film makers but hindered by the flat performance of one of the leads.The actual story of a bored housewife seemingly framed for murder by a cad certainly isn't fresh but Frances Gifford is properly anguished in the lead. MGM was giving her the big push at this time but almost immediately after this was completed she was involved in a major car accident in which she sustained severe injuries which effectively ending her career and causing her mental problems for the remainder of her days. Hodiak is also quite good as the rotten Arnelo of the title who manages to shade his rather contemptible character with a bit of conflict. The divine Eve Arden is also in the cast proving once again she's the best friend a leading lady ever had. In addition to being a bright spot she looks sensational in one glamorous outfit after another.Where the film suffers is in the role of the husband portrayed by George Murphy. He could not possibly have played the role more flatly if he actually tried. It's as if everyone else learned their lines and he's reading them off a cue card, badly. He's a major flaw in the film.Shot when noir was in its heyday the film is full of shadows and deep focus. Not a classic of the genre but a decent entry of its type.

This was in my opinion an excellent classic... Pretty suspenseful and definitely entertaining.... Of course, what they considered an "affair" was definitely not an affair in the sense these days... I hope this classic appears on Video or DVD in the future

This movie is unsuccessful as a noir, a crime drama -- as anything, really.John Hodiak is always compelling, though he isn't a convincing villain here. George Murphy is barely adequate.Frances Gifford -- whose bio I just read here, and who had a tragic life -- is very beautiful but directed to act as if in a coma.Even Eve Arden's quips fall uneasily flat in this context.The best performance is given by Dean Stockwell, as the strangely troubled child Murphy and Gifford profess to adore but who seems to be ignored by his father and to have an extreme affection for his mother.