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5.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Woman Between remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
You should probably watch this if you like those old black-and-white dramas where everyone has a secret and the furniture looks more expensive than the actors. If you want something fast or happy, you’re gonna hate it. It’s a very specific kind of 1931 mood that feels like a play someone filmed on a dare.
The movie starts out on a big ship. I always love how ships look in these old movies. They feel way more fancy than planes today, even if the sets are clearly just painted wood. Lester Vail plays Victor, and he’s your typical leading man who spends a lot of time looking at the horizon.
He meets Julie on the boat. Lili Damita plays her, and honestly, she’s the only reason to stay awake for the first twenty minutes. She has this very expressive face. Like she’s always about to tell a joke or cry, and she can't decide which one yet.
They fall in love fast. Like, suspiciously fast. But that’s how it worked back then, I guess. You had five days on a boat and that was enough to decide the rest of your life.
Then they get to land and everything goes south. Victor goes home to surprise his dad. His dad is John Whitcomb, played by O.P. Heggie. Heggie is great at playing those old guys who look like they just ate a lemon. He’s very stiff and very serious.
Then the big reveal happens. Julie walks into the room. She’s not just a guest. She’s the new wife. She is Victor's stepmother.
The look on Victor's face is priceless. It’s this mix of horror and 'I should have stayed in Europe.' The movie doesn't waste time getting to the point, which I appreciate. Some movies like The Highway of Hope take forever to get started, but this one jumps right into the awkwardness.
The house they live in is huge. It feels empty, though. The sound in this movie is kind of echoey. You can hear their shoes clicking on the floor in every scene. It makes the house feel cold, which fits the story, I suppose.
Lili Damita is really carrying the whole thing on her shoulders. The men in this movie are a bit like cardboard. They stand around and talk about honor and family, but she’s the one actually feeling things. She has this one scene in her bedroom where she’s just looking at her jewelry and you can tell she feels trapped.
I noticed this one weird thing with the lighting. In the library scene, the shadows are so long they look like stripes on the wall. It almost felt like I was watching The Golem for a second. It’s very dramatic for a movie that’s mostly just people talking about their feelings.
There is a younger sister too, played by Anita Louise. She’s very young here. She doesn't have much to do, but she’s way more natural than the guys. She just kind of floats in and out of scenes looking confused about why everyone is so upset.
The dialogue is... well, it's 1931 dialogue. 'I must go, Victor!' 'But Julie, you are my mother now!' It’s technically true since she’s his stepmom, but hearing them say it out loud is wild. It’s that pre-code energy where everything is just a little bit scandalous.
I found myself wondering about the dad. Does he know? He seems so clueless. O.P. Heggie plays him so straight that you can't tell if he's a genius or just really oblivious. He spends a lot of time touching his glasses and looking at papers.
The pacing gets a bit slow in the middle. They go to a dinner party and it feels like it lasts three hours. There’s a lot of wide shots of people sitting at a table. I caught myself looking at the background extras more than the main actors. One guy in the back was really going to town on his soup.
It reminds me a bit of the tension in Blindfold, but without the mystery stuff. It's just pure family drama. The kind where you know nobody is going to end up happy.
There is this one scene where Victor tries to confront Julie in the garden. The flowers look so fake. You can almost see the wires holding them up. It’s charming in a way, but it also takes you out of the 'serious' drama for a minute.
The ending is very abrupt. Like, one minute they’re arguing and the next the credits are rolling. I felt like I missed a page of the script. It doesn't really resolve anything in a way that feels satisfying. But maybe that’s the point? Life is messy and then it just stops.
Is it a masterpiece? No. But it’s a weird little time capsule. It’s better than The Old Hokum Bucket, that’s for sure. At least something actually happens here.
If you like seeing how people in the 30s dealt with extreme awkwardness, give it a watch. Just don't expect a happy ending. Or a logical one. Everyone is just very sad in very nice clothes.
I did like the way the camera lingered on Lili Damita's hats. She had some incredible hats. One of them looked like a giant pancake sat on her head. I think about that hat more than the plot, honestly.
Anyway, it's worth a look for the vibes alone. Just turn the volume up because that 1931 audio is pretty thin. You don't want to miss the sound of those shoes clicking on the marble floors.
IMDb —
1929
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