The Strange Love of Martha Ives (1946)

Film Noir notable for its cast - Van Heflin, Barbara Stanwyck, Liz Scott . This was also Kirk Douglas' first film and his strengths and weaknesses as a film actor are already evident.  Kirk plays his supporting part - an alcoholic weakling- adequately. But we see flashes of real star power when he gets angry or coolly threatens Van Heflin.  The story? Standard 1940s crime/drama.  Stanwyck riffs off her role in Double Indemnity and the rich people are bad to the bone. Only the poor drifters are good.*  Summary: Compulsive melodrama with plenty of Stars. The only problem is the ending** and too much wooden Liz Scott . Above average.

Notes
* = This was "the party line" in 1946, and Communist Robert Rossen, the screenwriter, follows it.

** =  Spoiler. To appease the production code, both Stanwyck and Douglas commit suicide at the end. Which the Stanwyck character would never do.