Rain is falling hard as this dark noir melodrama opens, and after the night is over, it will always be raining for Martha Ivers. Lewis Milestone directed this tale of life-long guilt that festers until misplaced suspicion destroys one person and puts another out of their misery. There are good performances from a great cast, none better than noir icon Lizabeth Scott's as a girl down on her luck but hoping against the odds for something good to happen. She proves to be the outside element to three lives bound together since childhood by a crime about which only two are aware.

This is a strange noir in many respects, mostly due to Milestone allowing the moviegoer to see the story unfold in chronological order, rather than using flashbacks. It creates sympathy for the twisted Martha Ivers, because the audience understands how one selfish moment in her youth set her on a coarse she can never change. It has been raining inside her soul ever since. At the same time however, we are rooting for the vulnerable Scott to be the victor in a battle she's not sure she can win.

Nearly two decades have passed since the film’s opening when Sam Masterson (Van Heflin) has an accident just outside of Iverstown. It brings back memories of when he was a brash kid, and the girl who now controls both Walter (Kirk Douglas) and the town. He meets the lovely Toni Marachek (Lizabeth Scott) on his first night there and lends her a hand. Fresh from jail and hoping to start over, Toni falls for Sam, but fate may slam the door in her face when his ties to Iverstown come to light.

Barbara Stanwyck is the adult Martha, married to the weaker of the boys from her youth, Walter. She flaunts her feelings for Sam in front of Walter, thinking she has it over on him because he loves her. He may have more courage than she does, however, as their twisted relationship becomes strained further by Sam's return.

Heflin is solid as always and this is one of the great neglected noir films of the 1940s; mostly because it fell into public domain, and for many years good prints were nearly impossible to find. Douglas is very good in his very first screen role, and Stanwyck's portrayal of the sick and twisted Martha Ivers can stand proudly alongside any character she played in the 1940's. Though her screen time is less by comparison, it is Scott, however, who manages to steal this film. Her Toni is easily the most memorable character in the film despite all the star-power around her. Even when she isn't around, we are thinking about Toni’s plight, wondering what will become of her.

A terrific and memorable noir melodrama. ( )