Strange Impersonation *** (1946, Brenda Marshall, William Gargan, Hillary Brooke) – Classic Movie Review 13,509

‘Hell hath no fury as a woman scalded by acid.’ Anthony Mann’s 1946 Republic Pictures film noir thriller Strange Impersonation stars Brenda Marshall, William Gargan and Hillary Brooke.

‘Hell hath no fury as a woman scalded by acid.’

Director Anthony Mann’s 1946 American film noir thriller Strange Impersonation stars Brenda Marshall, William Gargan and Hillary Brooke. It is made by W Lee Wilder Productions for release by Republic Pictures.

The brilliantly preposterous plot is handled with stupendous, cast-iron conviction by the whole cast and crew, in an extraordinarily entertaining, wonderfully overheated movie.

Brenda Marshall stars as a blonde, bespectacled, distinguished research scientist called Nora Goodrich, who is conducting experiments on a new anaesthetic.

On her way home from her lab, Nora backs out of her parking space and accidentally knocks down a woman named Jane Karaski (Ruth Ford), who walked behind the car.

Jane is unhurt in the slight traffic accident and agrees it was her fault, but sleazy ambulance-chasing lawyer J W Rinse (George Chandler) gives his card to them both and tries to stir up a lawsuit. Then Nora finds herself being blackmailed by Jane, whose greed is being encouraged by the scheming, snooping lawyer.

Next Nora’s jealous research assistant and best friend Arline Cole (Hillary Brooke), who is in love with Nora’s boyfriend/ fiancé and colleague Dr Stephen Lindstrom (William Gargan), treacherously arranges for an explosion of a volatile new anaesthesia mixture in the laboratory, disfiguring Nora’s face.

So Nora then has plastic surgery to make her look like the woman who tried to blackmail after seeing her fall to her death from the apartment window following a struggle. And now Nora determines to get back her boyfriend and punish her scheming assistant Arline.

Ah, yes, this really is a Strange Impersonation! You couldn’t make it up, could you? Yet three rather clever people did. The story is by Lewis Herman and Anne Wigton, and the screenplay is by Mindret Lord.

Preposterous plotting it may be, but it is all very logical, in its own weird and wonderful way. The highly estimable, and under-estimated Brenda Marshall and Hillary Brooke are absolutely admirable. Anthony Mann made many more illustrious movies, but he can be celebrated nicely with this one too,

Republic Pictures released the film on 16 March 1946.

The cast are Brenda Marshall as Nora Goodrich, William Gargan as Dr Stephen Lindstrom, Hillary Brooke as Arline Cole, George Chandler as plaintiffs’ attorney J W Rinse, Ruth Ford as Jane Karaski #1, H B Warner as plastic surgeon Dr Mansfield, Lyle Talbot as chief interrogator Inspector Malloy, Mary Treen as talkative nurse, Cay Forester as interrogation witness Miss Roper, and Dick Scott as Detective.

W Lee Wilder was born Wilhelm Wilder on August 22, 1904 in Sucha, Galicia, Austria-Hungary, now Sucha Beskidzka, Malopolskie, Poland. He was long estranged from his younger brother Billy Wilder, who called him ‘a dull son of a bitch’. He directed Once a Thief (1950), The Big Bluff (1955) and Killers from Space (1954). 

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,509

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com