They Won't Believe Me
| They Won't Believe Me | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Irving Pichel |
| Produced by | Joan Harrison |
| Screenplay by | Jonathan Latimer |
| Story by | Gordon McDonell |
| Starring |
Robert Young Susan Hayward Jane Greer |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Cinematography | Harry J. Wild |
| Edited by | Elmo Williams |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
They Won't Believe Me is a 1947 black-and-white film noir starring Robert Young, Susan Hayward and Jane Greer. It was directed by Irving Pichel and produced by Alfred Hitchcock's longtime assistant and collaborator, Joan Harrison.
After the prosecution rests its case in the murder trial of Larry Ballentine (Robert Young), the defense attorney puts his client on the stand to tell his story.
Larry had married Greta (Rita Johnson) for her money. In flashback, he recounts how he started seeing Janice Bell (Jane Greer) behind his wife's back, innocently enough in secluded New York City bars, but feelings had grown between them. Unwilling to break up a marriage, Janice gets a job transfer, and tells Larry their relationship is over. At the time, Larry agrees to run off with her. She tells him she is leaving for Montreal on the night train, and Larry agrees to meet her at the train station. Larry tells Janice that he and Greta have grown apart, and that he will leave her. Larry returns home and begins to pack a suitcase, when Greta comes in and starts to help him pack. He tells her he is leaving, and she said she knew since there had been a train ticket for him delivered that day. Greta tells Larry that she knows he has been unhappy with her, that New York City is not home for him, but she had thought that their marriage would change that. To accommodate him, and try to make him happy, she had purchased half-interest in a brokerage in LA so he could have a job, and also has rented a house for them. Greta is too deeply in love to give Larry up on her own, so she leaves the decision up to him. The temptation is too great and Larry leaves with Greta, never telling Janice goodbye.
At the brokerage, Larry once again begins womanizing. One day Larry is reprimanded by his business partner, Trenton (Tom Powers), for neglecting a rich client. Employee Verna Carlson (Susan Hayward) protects him by producing a copy of a letter supposedly mailed by Larry to the client the day before, but actually written by her and sent special delivery that day. Larry resists becoming romantically entangled again, but Verna blatantly seduces him. Soon the two are spending time together, in remote bars and restaurants, attending concerts, and at times in Verna's apartment. She brazenly admits she is a gold digger (having a prior relationship with Trenton). Larry lies to Greta, telling her he has late business meetings. One night, late, Larry comes home and finds Greta awake and waiting for him. She confronts him with the truth, and tells him that she is finished, but that she will not divorce him. She tells him she has sold the brokerage interest and bought an old Spanish ranch in the mountains. She tells him he has no job and no place to live, but that he can come with her. Which, of course, he does.
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