MovieChat Forums > The Strange Woman (1946) Discussion > 'GWTW' rip-off??

'GWTW' rip-off??

posted 17 years ago by brt374
7 replies | jump to latest

I came across this movie on TCM this morning (it's still on, actually), and even though it was just playing in the background as I surfed the Internet, I found the similarities to 'GWTW' too obvious to ignore. The main actress even looks just like Vivien Leigh! Obviously the grainy, B&W production value has nothing on the Technicolor of its inspiration, but it's alarming how much it mimics so many elements of 'GWTW'. I would've had no indication it was set in Maine if I'd not read the synopsis on here, as the accents seem downright Southern most of the time. And yes, as another poster said, the ending is quite contrived and very overdramatic. Can't say I'm sorry I missed the beginning now that it's over!

"...ultimately, I want to be nominated for a picture in which I don't even appear." --Ellen Burstyn

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] billr1953 16 years ago

you have to wonder how it would have ended if it was a precode film.Hedy would probably not have died to pay for her "sins."

it was nice to get to see a lot of her movies featured this past month on TCM.she certainly was a beauty.

[–] Filmophile_B 15 years ago

I'm enjoying this film. Hedy Lemar is gorgeous. Just wanted to add that I also see similarities to GWTW.

[–] Janie522 14 years ago

For sure. Wasn't it interesting how it mirrored the attitudes of the time? It seems like the "good woman" (Meg) gets the "good man" (John) in the end. And the church gave Jenny some "conscience." But the writing was complex enough to make it a really good movie, I think. For example, Jenny and John talk about how the visiting preacher incites people to admit their faults, true or not.

Did you notice that before Ephraim goes on the canoe trip with his father, Jenny gives him a big, long kiss. Then sometime later when Ephraim is talking man-to-man with John, he says Jenny made love to him until he was crazy (not those exact words).

[–] bruno-32 14 years ago

Well, its not how it ended in the book...Jenny goes on and has sons. The movie obviously changed that...remember when they inserted her visit to the doctor where he tells her she cannot have children? She was also concerned that her husband would leave her if they could not have any children and scoffed it off with her line...about what nuisances they would be to have them running around? My favorite line from Hedy to her stepson..."You can't come into this house, you wretched coward...you've killed your father."

[–] jrhpax 8 years ago

I'm not planning to read the book, but your comment about the plot of the book is helpful -- the movie doesn't make any sense. The line that bruno-32 just quoted doesn't make any sense, either -- considering that she had WANTED the stepson to kill his father/her husband.

And like everyone else who sees this movie, the comparisons in LOOKS between Vivien Leigh in "Gone with the Wind" and Hedy Lamarr in "The Strange Woman" are unmistakable. Except that "Gone with the Wind" is a classic and "The Strange Woman" is easily forgotten.

[–] cuechick 8 years ago

Yes, she wanted him to kill his father but she didn't really love him either, she was playing him to get the father's fortune. The only one she may have loved was John.

As for the OP's original GWTW comparison, yes I think it was heavily influenced, not surprising since it was so successful. The soap opera style of this was really fun and slightly over the top... of course not near as good but quite fun on its own. I watched it last night on Amazon Prime and just to see how stunning Hedy is in this is worth the watch.