The Reckless Moment (1949)

 Max Ophuls' "The Reckless Moment"

I feel as though Max Ophuls is being very limited in his U.S. productions. After watching his 1933 German film "Liebelei," I felt as though I were watching a director with a lot of promise. From what I understand, this promise becomes fulfilled with his French filmography in the 1950s. However, with his late 1930s and 1940s productions, it feels more like Ophuls is limited by his studios. The only U.S. film of his I found particularly fascinating with 1948's "Letter from an Unknown Woman." Although, one of his films that came out only a year after, "The Reckless Moment" is still an enjoyable watch nonetheless, despite it not blowing me away.

The film stars Joan Bennett as a mother attempting to protect her daughter from the sleazy gangster she's dating. After the gangster and the daughter get into an argument, the daughter accidentally kills him (unbeknownst to her). After the mother disposes of the body and covers up the murder, a man arrives to blackmail her. 

The film is marketed as being a 'noir.' I feel as though many films in the 1940s and 50s are tagged with this pesky 'noir' label, despite not actually being noir. This film is one of them. I feel as though any film dealing with murder and blackmail does not automatically make it noir. Rather, the film is more of a suspenseful melodrama. 

The main thing I took away from the film is the concept of what a mother would do to protect her child. Based on this concept alone, the film works. You watch as this mother goes through different twists and turns of the story, even compromising herself, to save the innocence of her daughter. Beyond that, the film is a mildly entertaining light-thriller.