cast a dark shadow

January 19 movie: Cast a Dark Shadow. This was really, really good. Dirk Bogarde stars as a sleazy opportunist who marries a rich older woman, kills her for her money but botches it up. It sounds like I've just given away a major spoiler, but no, that was the first 15 minutes of the movie. The performances are terrific, especially Bogarde -- he has this way of sounding all sympathy and caring, while throwing a look of pure contempt, which is just chilling -- and Margaret Lockwood as Bogarde's second wife, a hard woman who is more than his match. My only criticism is that in the second half of the movie, the plot was a touch obvious. More than a touch actually. There's a major plot "twist" which you can see coming a mile away. Still well worth seeing for the acting.