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      The Woman on the Beach

      Released Jun 2, 1947 1h 11m Drama List
      Reviews 49% 100+ Ratings Audience Score Coast Guard officer Scott (Robert Ryan) loves his fiancée, Eve (Nan Leslie), but he can't fight his attraction to the alluring Peggy (Joan Bennett), a lonely beauty he meets on the beach. But Peggy is trapped in a loveless marriage to Tod (Charles Bickford), a former painter whose career was cut short by blindness. Scott and Peggy become romantically involved, yet they can't help but feel that Tod knows more than he's letting on -- and his blindness may just be a ruse he uses to spy on Peggy. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Richard Brody New Yorker The filmmaker, living in California in self-imposed exile from France, cuts loose with vicious moods and creative rages that feel like the destruction of an old world and the violent birth of new possibilities. May 5, 2014 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Renoir's expert framing and intuitive direction bring out the vivid emotions of this setup. For such a thin film, the result packs a potent punch. Jun 17, 2011 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews One can only imagine how the pic would have looked without RKO interference. Rated: B Feb 10, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (10) audience reviews
      Audience Member Its just about watchable. The premise is mildly interesting although at times the script does come out with pretty poor dialogue. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Tom M Another good film that goes off the rails in the end. Characters become so inconsistent that film becomes difficult to watch. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/08/21 Full Review s r A little too melodramatic for my liking, but his name was Scott. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member a good late 1940s film noir with a great cast and excellent noir lighting Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliant French director Jean Renoir made a handful of films in Hollywood, but sadly none of them equaled or came anywhere close to "Rules of the Game" or "The Grande Illusion." In this film he tells the story of a Coast Guard officer with PTSD, Robert Ryan, who falls for seductress Joan Bennett. Bennett is already involved with a blind artist, Chalres Bickford, who Ryan begins to believe isn't really blind. The film is really just an overwrought melodrama not worth of the the talent in front of or behind the camera. Still, Ryan, Bennett and Bickford give it the old college try when delivering the sometimes laughable dialogue and director Renior manages to fill the film with some interesting visuals, particularly during Ryan's PSTD induced nightmare sequences. This film was actually the last film Renior made in American and I can see why. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This American Renoir, apparently hacked down to 71 minutes by RKO, is still pretty fascinating in its weirdness (not unlike other Joan Bennett vehicles like Secret Beyond the Door or, um, Suspiria -- that voice!). Robert Ryan is in a dream-like state throughout the move (not his typical nasty self) and his opening nightmare is a wonder of montage. Charles Bickford is intense as the blind painter with a grip on Bennett -- or does she have a grip on him? What is Ryan doing ignoring his sexy blonde mechanic for the clearly screwed up woman on the beach? And what's with the ambiguous ending? Destroying all links to the past can set you/them free? Worth a look if you have a spare hour or so, but you have to wonder what Renoir intended. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Woman on the Beach

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Coast Guard officer Scott (Robert Ryan) loves his fiancée, Eve (Nan Leslie), but he can't fight his attraction to the alluring Peggy (Joan Bennett), a lonely beauty he meets on the beach. But Peggy is trapped in a loveless marriage to Tod (Charles Bickford), a former painter whose career was cut short by blindness. Scott and Peggy become romantically involved, yet they can't help but feel that Tod knows more than he's letting on -- and his blindness may just be a ruse he uses to spy on Peggy.
      Director
      Jean Renoir
      Screenwriter
      Frank Davis, Jean Renoir
      Distributor
      RKO Radio Pictures
      Production Co
      RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jun 2, 1947, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jun 21, 2011
      Runtime
      1h 11m