Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

clanciai You never hated Bette Davis so much before. She could be criminal and nasty but never quite abominable, which somehow she is brought here to become more or less against her will by too many unexpected visitors to her house, beginning with her husband, whom you never see except as dead. It's a damned tricky plot, and Val Guest was expert at such things, making a criminal intrigue as inextricable as possible in order to have the great pleasure of having it all dissolve in the most unexpected possible but percetly logical way. The Gothic atmosphere of this chamber play is gloomily enhanced by the whole thing being filmed in Bette Davis' own home, here situated far away in the desolation of the Yorkshire moors. The music also underscores the tension of the plot, and the colloquial doctor (Emlyn Williams) who knows everything beforehand, which you dont get to know until after the end, doesn't make things easier for anyone. Only the young couple (Anthony Steel and Barbara Murray) get away unharmed, while the most upsetting case and victim of injustice of all is, as the doctor clearly points out, a horse. It's a major display of meanness and super-excellent as such, but in all these towering passions of possessive love you despondently miss and lack the faintest shade of any human varmth and tenderness.

Paul Evans That old saying 'they don't make 'um like this anymore' seems wonderfully applicable here, no distracting special effects or nonsense, this is all about story and delivery. Gary Merrill was a wonderful talent, I've seen plenty of his work, but here he is particularly good, in part because he spars throughout the film with Bette Davies. We all have our favourite Bette Davies film and performance, she is outstanding here, a striking woman, both in appearance and capability. She delivers her lines with meaning, reason and honesty, she is dark, believable, a true Femme Fatale.Barbara Murray and Anthony Steel make a wonderfully attractive young couple, they offer great support to the leading cast, as does Emlyn Williams (the interfering vet.)The film is loaded with intrigue, full of twists, and the plot itself is incredibly deep and intricate. You watch from start to finish not knowing which way it's going to go, and what the outcome will be. Crazy to realise it was made in 1951. The music on occasion seems at odds with the plot.A film of great quality.

mdg55 It's fascinating to watch the wife and husband duo go at each other playing anything but a loving married couple. What makes this, of all of Bette Davis' movies rich is that the set is her own home; and, what a place it is. Not a palace, but a very British type of country home.Davis' & Merrill's acting is superb; the plot is thick; the script worthy of Davis' fantastic articulation & conveyance of attitudes contrary enough to part the Red Sea.Everyone's got their favorite Bette Davis film, if they're a fan of the US classics from Warner Bros.. Mine is this "Poison...," because it's the 4th time the dynamic duo act together but the first time they both have leading roles; it's filmed in their own home which reveals so much about Davis' tastes & I could feel her comfort with the set; the mystery.crime.drama is unsettling; and to the end, I watched wondering how Davis would get out of the ugly situation in which Merrill's held her.There's something very different about this movie because Davis put on the production herself outside of a domineering studio. Considering the year & women's social inferiority in the workplace, even in Hollywood, it's remarkable that Davis pulled "Poison..." off so well.

sapblatt I am getting more and more into Bette Davis' style, which is on fine display in this feature where she plays a mystery writer who gets tangled up in her own sordid tale. Davis kills her own estranged husband and then gets set up by his criminal friend who thinks he can successfully hide under the guise of Bette's unknown husband. This poor character has no idea who or what he is up against when he takes on Bette. For that matter, her poor secretary has no idea either when Bette suddenly decides that she wants her fiance. While I found most of the supporting cast to be quite bland and annoying (the neighbor), the movie does a great job highlighting Bette's talents and is quite enjoyable to watch.