Quite upset about the company her teenager daughter, Bea (Geraldine Brooks), is keeping, Lucia Harper (Joan Bennett) pays a visit to one Ted Darby. Telling him there is nothing she won't do to keep him from her daughter, Lucia offers the man money to stay out of Bea's life. After Darby expresses interest in such an offer, Lucia is triumphant, for if Bea knows her beau was willing to be bought off, surely she will realize he's a ne'er-do-well.
That evening, Bea sneaks out of the house to rendezvous with Ted, and after he admits that her mother told her the truth---that he would, in fact, take money from her---Bea, furious, strikes at him. Though Bea's blow doesn't kill Ted, he does end up dying, and both Bea and Lucia believe that Bea killed him. Terrified, Lucia takes it upon herself to dispose of the body in a nearby swamp.
Although Lucia is confident that she left no trail and that no one will connect her or Bea with Darby's death, she soon finds that she does, in fact, have reason to worry. Bea had written dozens of love letters to Ted, and the man had used the letters as collateral in an unscrupulous loan; the current holder of the letters---Martin Donnelly (James Mason)---knowing they are incriminating evidence against Bea, is demanding $5,000 from Lucia in order to keep the letters from the police. With her husband out of town, though, and unable to sign for a loan, Lucia is finding herself unable to meet Donnelly's demands.
Will Donnelly go to the police? Will Bea or Lucia be implicated in Darby's death? These are the questions that play out in the balance of this film. (This video clip is the first of six parts.)
While The Reckless Moment is not a spectacular film, I did find it interesting and enjoyable. The storyline was exciting and mildly suspenseful and even offered a surprise twist at the end. And, of course, there's the beautiful voice of James Mason. All those things work together to make this a very solid 3-star film.
To my knowledge, this film is not out on DVD, so it might be a bit difficult to track down. It is, however, available in its entirely on YouTube (in 6 parts).
Happy viewing!!
