Ivy - Imprint Films Limited Edition

Joan Fontaine built her career portraying demure, goody-two-shoes heroines, many of whom speak in quivering, breathy tones. In films like The Women, Rebecca, Suspicion, and Jane Eyre, Fontaine crafted a fragile, insecure persona that defines her to this day, but after a decade of playing roughly the same type of character, the Oscar-winning actress sought a change of pace. When her sister Olivia de Havilland turned down the titular role of Ivy, Fontaine was cast as the beautiful, calculating Edwardian socialite who literally and figuratively poisons the men in her life. Ivy may not always hang together, but Fontaine has a firm grasp on the eponymous, rotten-to-the-core woman who doesn't think twice about destroying those who stand between her and the wealthy, rarefied existence a filthy-rich magnate can offer her.

The elegant Ivy Lexton (Fontaine) is the belle of many balls in 1909 England, but her extravagant tastes and frivolous spending have all but bankrupted her once-wealthy, not-very-bright husband, Jervis (Richard Ney). Though the couple now lives in a very modest, cramped flat and can barely scrape two shillings together, they somehow keep up a well-to-do appearance and maintain their lofty social ties.

Ivy's bank account may be empty, but her love life is full...and complicated. Unbeknownst to her trusting, worshipful spouse, Ivy is having an affair with Roger Gretorex (Patric Knowles), a dashing, affluent doctor who adores Ivy and resents playing second fiddle to Jervis. Ivy deftly juggles the two relationships, but once she lays eyes on the older and far wealthier businessman Miles Rushworth (Herbert Marshall), the only things she sees are moneybags.

Ivy uses her considerable wiles to pursue Miles, who despite a romantic entanglement of his own can't resist her allure. After an impulsive kiss, however, the upstanding Miles informs Ivy that romancing a married woman violates his moral code. Crestfallen, but unwilling to give up on her dream of living off of Miles’ millions, Ivy asks Jervis for a divorce, but he refuses. So what’s a girl to do when she’s trapped in a marriage and saddled with an obsessed lover? The answer is simple. Steal some arsenic from Roger’s office, slowly poison Jervis, and pin his murder on the unsuspecting and hopelessly smitten Roger.

Period film noirs aren't very common and it's even more of an anomaly to see a femme fatale dressed in constraining Victorian gowns. Ivy is fairly unique in that regard and stands as an engrossing, well-acted, and at times surprising thriller. Directed by three-time Oscar-nominee Sam Wood, who helmed such classics as Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Kitty Foyle, Kings Row, and Pride of the Yankees, the film uses a slow-burn approach to build tension. The narrative crescendos to a shocking climax, but the incredibly abrupt ending robs the story of some of its sting. Sadly, the pesky Production Code demanded Ivy's comeuppance, which was a departure from the original novel. An ending more akin to the one in Body Heat (produced more than three decades later) would have been more satisfying, for as femme fatales go, Fontaine’s Ivy and Kathleen Turner’s Matty Walker have a lot in common, despite the seven decades that separate their respective tales.

Ivy also has a lot in common with Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion, and Fontaine is not the only shared element. Both movies focus on a spouse of questionable moral character who may or may not be poisoning their mate. In Suspicion, Fontaine is the victim of Cary Grant's perceived treachery; in Ivy, Fontaine is the perpetrator, although her intentions and actions are far more overt than Grant's. Both movies cop out at the end for different reasons, with Suspicion the bigger offender in that regard. Interestingly, Ivy's literate, finely crafted screenplay is written by Charles Bennett, who scripted most of Hitchcock's British films (The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps, and Sabotage chief among them) and earned his sole Oscar nomination for Hitch's Foreign Correspondent in 1940.

Fontaine had no experience playing a bitch on screen, though off-screen, her often estranged sister probably often thought she was one. (Their rivalry and intermittent feuding fueled gossip columns for decades, and though Olivia refrained from hurling invectives toward her sister, she did once refer to Joan as a "dragon lady.") Whatever Fontaine drew upon to inhabit the poisonous Ivy, it worked, and with a seductive slyness she paints a vivid portrait of unvarnished evil. She also looks ravishing in the period costumes by master designer Orry-Kelly.

Marshall brings his usual debonair charm, sophistication, and impeccable decorum to his tycoon role, but he disappears during the movie's middle section. Both Knowles, as Ivy's illicit lover, and Ney, as her hapless husband, assert themselves well. (Classics fans will best remember Knowles as Will Scarlett in The Adventures of Robin Hood and Ney as Greer Garson's on-screen son in Mrs. Miniver and off-screen husband.) Such esteemed character actors as Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Lucile Watson, Sara Allgood, Henry Stephenson, and - in a brief but especially effective turn as a creepy clairvoyant - Una O'Connor make strong impressions, and even Fontaine's mother Lilian appears in a bit part.

Ivy may not rank among the best film noirs, but it’s carved a nice niche for itself. Though the character certainly isn’t likable, there’s a lot to love about Fontaine’s icy portrayal, the atmospheric story, classy production values, and colorful supporting performances. The movie crashed and burned at the box office upon its initial release, but like a phoenix it rises from the ashes on Blu-ray and delivers diabolically good entertainment.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Ivy arrives on Blu-ray packaged in a clear case inside a slipcase. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and audio is LPCM 2.0 mono. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu without music immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.

It doesn't seem as if a new master was created for this release, but Imprint Films has produced a lovely 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer that shows off Ivy quite well. Some mild print damage occasionally crops up, but for the most part this is a clean, vibrant rendering that faithfully honors the cinematography of the great Russell Metty, who would win an Oscar a dozen years later for Spartacus. The original grain structure remains intact and produces a film-like image that boasts good clarity and contrast, dense blacks, bright, stable whites, and a pleasing grayscale. Excellent shadow delineation and some striking silhouettes enhance the noirish feel and an array of beautiful close-ups showcase Fontaine's impeccable complexion and elegant hats and veils. Fine details in the period décor and costume textures are distinct, and no digital anomalies could be detected. 

The LPCM 2.0 mono track supplies clear, well-modulated sound. A wide dynamic scale gives the melodramatic music score by two-time Oscar-nominee Daniele Amfitheatrof plenty of room to breathe and all the conversations (even Fontaine's breathiest whispers) are easy to comprehend. Sonic accents are crisp and no age-related hiss, pops, or crackle intrude.

A couple of interesting extras adorn the disc.

• Featurette: "A Classic Duplicity" (HD, 14 minutes) - Author Jeremy Arnold discusses the production of Ivy, examines its themes, and analyzes Joan Fontaine's performance in this worthwhile featurette.
• Vintage Radio Broadcast: Suspense: The Story of Ivy (30 minutes) - This episode of the popular weekly radio series adapts Marie Belloc Lowndes' novel a couple of years before Universal produced the film version. 
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 30 seconds) - More of a teaser than a trailer, this preview hypes Fontaine's change-of-pace performance.

An unvarnished portrait of evil, Ivy is distinguished by an elegantly crafted Joan Fontaine performance, stellar work from a top-notch supporting cast, and deliciously creepy direction by Sam Wood. Imprint Films' Blu-ray presentation features fine video and audio transfers and a couple of worthwhile supplements. If you're a film noir fan, this disc is right up your alley and definitely deserves a spin. Recommended.