Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Micransix Crappy film

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Claudio Carvalho The Assistant District Attorney Cleve Marshall (Wendell Corey) has an unhappy marriage with his wife Pamela Blackwell Marshall (Joan Tetzel) due to the interference of her father, Judge Calvin H. Blackwell (Minor Watson). He decides to drink in his office after hours instead of going to the birthday party of Pamela. Out of the blue, a woman named Thelma Jordon (Barbara Stanwyck) arrives at the office looking for Cleve's boss to report an attempt of robbery of her wealthy Aunt Vera Edwards (Gertrude W. Hoffman) and she ends the night drinking and dancing with Cleve in a restaurant. Soon they have a love affair and Cleve falls in love with Thelma. But he does not know anything about the past of the mysterious Thelma. When Aunt Vera is murdered at home, Thelma calls Cleve to help her since she would be the prime suspect of shooting her aunt. He covers up the evidences that might link Thelma to the death becoming her accomplice and is assigned to be the prosecutor of her judgment. What will happen to Thelma and Cleve?"The File on Thelma Jordon" is a fine film-noir directed by the master Robert Siodmak. Barbara Stanwyck performs the typical femme fatale, seducing the assistant DA Cleve Marshall and destroying his life. The moralist conclusion could have been better but the film is worthwhile watching. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Confissão de Thelma" ("The Confession of Thelma Jordon")

Cristi_Ciopron Very, very good role by Wendell Corey, and very believable, his mistrust and power and commanding resourcefulness, as he is straightened by the events; with the part of Thelma, there's debatable: whether it is lifelike that her affections remains hidden until the denouement, or whether the actress should nonetheless of made it glitter, as it were, now and then (so, whether the leading actress was obtuse, or judicious). Thelma's lawyer stands out, too, with a very sharp performance. Barbara S. does one of her piquant housewife roles from the 2nd half of the '40s, with a mastery (not necessarily an ease) and strength that make her more convincing than appealing. I have tasted the leisure, the relish of one of those superior suspense dramas of the '40s, a movie equivalent of the human comedy, where the tropes of the age's cinema are simply lenses to the plot; and I have also tasted the fun, then the Gothic tonality of the dark old house sequence, with the servant nearing the mansion while the two lovers are fixing the murder scene. I have thought about 'Martha Ivers'; this is grimmer, more suspenseful, tauter than the other movie, and also much more of a romance than a study of jaded people, 'Thelma' is indeed the movie about a 'strange love', and it gains depth, but, thanks to Wendell Corey's role, there's always this undercurrent of passion and depth. Less analytical, as convincing, and very satisfying dramatically. On the other hand, Tony Laredo summarizes what must be to some people the gist of this movie: a story about a fall guy, deceivers and double crossing; which isn't what I take it to be.I do not see the '40s cinema of the USA as breaking with its past.

jotix100 The combination of an unhappy man with an ambitious woman is a formula for disaster, as we have seen in a lot of film noir offerings. In this story, Cleve Marshall, and assistant D.A., proves to be the perfect target for what a scheming lady like Thelma Jordon has in mind. From the start, Thelma is too happy to oblige the interest and the passion she incites in Cleve.Marshall is a married man whose wife, Pamela, a society girl, is deeply involved with her parents in social events that are deeply resented by the down to earth Cleve. He drowns his sorrows in drink, something that Thelma knows will help her bring him to her side, although she has other things in mind. When the affair begins in earnest, Thelma gets involved in the murder of her old aunt. Cleve, who has been indiscreet with his phone calls to the old woman's residence, is summoned to help Thelma who stands a good chance to get the maximum death sentence for all the evidence points in her direction. Cleve, who gets the assignment to prosecute Thelma, doesn't know what he is really getting into.This 1950 Paramount release has not been seen much lately. As someone else pointed out, it used to turn a lot in the days of early television. The film is worth a look because Robert Siodmak's direction. Mr. Siodmak, who had worked in his native Germany and in France, had a great eye for detail, as he shows in this story.Barbara Stanwyck was the perfect actress to portray Thelma. She had been successful in other films that involved ambitious women with no scruples. Ms. Stanwyck always gave impressive readings to the characters she played, which is the case of her Thelma. Wendell Corey, another excellent actor, has the sad task to play the man who throws everything away because he is blinded by the intensity of his feelings for an unworthy woman.The supporting cast does wonders to help the film. Best of all is Stanley Ridges who plays Thelma's attorney. Paul Kelly, another good character actor appears as Cleve's boss. Joan Tetzel and Richard Lober also appear in minor roles.The film will not disappoint fans of this genre.

melvelvit-1 A woman with an unsavory past lures a troubled, married assistant D.A. into an adulterous affair; when her aunt is murdered, she's accused of the crime and her lover tries to sabotage the prosecution's case with tragic results.Dissatisfaction with the suburban American Dream is an undercurrent in a few Films Noir and this one is reminiscent of Andre de Toth's PITFALL in that respect. There's also a doomed romanticism that recalls Siodmak's earlier CRISS CROSS with its all-too-human femme fatale along with a curious, mixed-message moral ambiguity: trying to change what he was cost Cleve Marshall dearly -but when Thelma Jordon tried to change what she was, it proved fatal. Breaking out of private traps is a futility in Film Noir and is shown to good effect here. Barbara Stanwyck's Thelma is a Phyllis Dietrichson with heart and she plays well off the weaker Wendell Corey's Cleve. Authority figure Paul Kelly is always a welcome presence and daddy's girl Joan Tetzel is appropriately sympathetic as Cleve's neglected wife. THE FILE ON THELMA JORDON may be a minor entry in the canon that's not very impressive on a visual or technical level but this Hal Wallis/Paramount production is still worthwhile for those addicted to the genre.