They Won't Believe Me

"He lived a lie that led him from one disastrous love to another!"

1947 1h 35m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 50★7.2IMDB · 3,014

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.

“He lived a lie that led him from one disastrous love to another!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Robert Young
Larry Ballentine
Susan Hayward
Verna Carlson
Jane Greer
Janice Bell
Rita Johnson
Greta Ballentine
Tom Powers
Trenton
George Tyne
Lieutenant Carr
Don Beddoe
Thomason
Frank Ferguson
Mr. Cahill

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Irving Pichel
Writers: Jonathan Latimer, Gordon McDonell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Irving Pichel, shot by Harry J. Wild. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Elmo Williams shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Young and Susan Hayward and Jane Greer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He lived a lie that led him from one disastrous love to another!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039896 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Irving Pichel directs. Harry J. Wild behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Elmo Williams cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

179 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Irving Pichel, shot by Harry J. Wild. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Elmo Williams shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Robert Young and Susan Hayward and Jane Greer carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "He lived a lie that led him from one disastrous love to another!".
7IMDB entry: tt0039896 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Harry J. Wild
Original score: Roy Webb
Editing: Elmo Williams
Makeup / hair: Gordon Bau
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: They Won't Believe Me (1947)
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 3,014 votes
MPAA: Approved

Also by

Irving Pichel

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-11-13
★ 8/10
Touched by the hand of God/Satan. They Won't Believe Me is directed by Irving Pichel and adapted to screenplay by Jonathan Latimer from a story by Gordon McDonell. It stars Robert Young, Susan Hayward, Jane Greer and Rita Johnson. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Harry J. Wild. Larry Ballentine (Young) is on trial for murder and he tells his story in flashback. Three dames and fate does not a good mix make. "She looked like a very special kind of dynamite, neatly wrapped in nylon and silk. Only I wasn't having any. I'd been too close to one explosion already. I was powder shy". A splendid slice of noir drama is put together by a group of film makers who knew how to make the noir style of film making work. The story has all the requisite ingredients to lure the interested viewers in, twists and turns, vipers and snipers, dialogue so sharp you could cut a steak with it, and a love rat protagonist (Young splendid in a break from his normal roles) being toyed with by Old Noir Nick and his friend The Fate. In true noir tradition the plot is a little "out there", the middle section drags at times, while Harry Wild's cinematography doesn't kick in till a good hour into the play (worth the wait though!). But this is a little noir treasure waiting to be seen by more people. It's not unknown, the cast list ensures that is not the case, but in film noir circles it doesn't often crop up for discussion. It should, for it's tricky and devilish and pays off with a finale straight out of noirville. 8/10
JPV8522021-05-01
★ 7/10
Decent, if not also a bit slow, film noir crime-drama, features some fine performances by Robert Young and Susan Hayward. Had fun with the numerous amounts of irony including ending. Should also note this is the original 95-minute version, seen on home video for the first time in 20 years (re-issue version was only 80-minutes). 3.5/5