The Woman on the Beach

Director: Jean Renoir

Overview

This dark melodrama focuses on a married Coast Guard lieutenant who is suffering from post-traumatic stress. The lieutenant gets involved with a woman married to a blind, elderly, and nearly suicidal painter. As the lieutenant and the wife become increasingly intimate, he learns that she is responsible for her husband's condition.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/05/2011
UPC:	0883316317709
Original Release:	1947
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:11:00
Sales rank:	39,054

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Ryan	Scott,Mrs. Wernecke
Charles Bickford	Todd
Joan Bennett	Peggy
Nan Leslie	Eve
Walter Sande	Otto Wernecke
Frank Darien	Lars
Jay Norris	Jimmy
Glenn Vernon	Kirk,Kirk
Hugh Chapman	Young Fisherman
Carl Faulkner	Old Fisherman
Marie Dodd	Nurse,Nurse Jennings
Harry Harvey	Dr. Smith
Charles Pawley	Barton
Bill Shannon	Blacksmith
Harry Tyler	Carter
Donald Gordon	Donnie
Jackie Jackson	Johnnie
Carl Armstrong	Lenny
John Elliott	Old Workman
Martha Hyers	Mrs. Barton
Robert Andersen	Coast Guardsman
Kay Christopher	Girl at Party
Carol Donell	Girl at Party
Martha Hyer	Mrs. Barton
Nancy Saunders	Girl at Party
Robert Seiter	Coast Guardsman
Robert Anderson	Coast Guardsman
Drew Miller	Actor
Bonnie Blair	Actor
Hanns Eisler	Composer

Technical Credits

J.R. Michael Hogan

Frank Davis

Jean Renoir

Russell A. Cully	Special Effects
Jack Gross	Producer,Executive Producer,Producer
J.R. Michael Hogan	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Clem Portman	Sound Effects
Jean L. Speak	Sound Effects
Frank Davis	Screenwriter
Jean Renoir	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A frustrating yet fascinating film, The Woman on the Beach is one of those pictures that make one wonder intensely at what might have been rather than what is. According to legend, director Jean Renoir was forced to drastically re-cut Woman after a disastrous preview, eventually shelving about a third of the film and obviously coming up with a finished product that is far different than the one he originally envisioned. (The re-editing also accounts for some curious continuity lapses in the final version.) What is left is a moody, dream-like work that still doesn't make things easy for the audience, suggesting motivations rather than explicitly stating them and offering hints at character traits that may or may not be accurate. On top of this, there's more than a trace of film noir to the proceedings, although it doesn't fulfill the formulaic expectations it sets up as part of the genre. Ultimately, Woman is unsatisfying, and to some viewers it will simply be dull; but others will get drawn in by much of the richness that exists in the surviving version. Certainly all should agree on Joan Bennett's fatale-istic performance and should find much to appreciate in the work of Robert Ryan and Charles Bickford as well. The moody, atmospheric cinematography is also worthy of praise.