The Arnelo Affair

Plot

A lawyer's wife, Anne Parkson(Frances Gifford) is bored and neglected. She begins meeting with one of her husbands clients, a nightclub owner Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak) for interior design work. One afternoon she arrives at Tony's and soon after Tony's girlfriend shows up. The girlfriend is upset by Anne being there and starts making a fuss. Tony arrives, hits the girlfriend, and Anne Parkson runs out. Soon after police find Anne's unique compact near the body of Arnelo's murdered girlfriend. Tony planted the compact in a clever plot, Anne finds herself blackmailed and implicated in murder. Tony is in love with Anne and attempts to force her into leaving her husband. A homicide detective soon figures out the facts and confronts Tony. When Tony is made to realize that his lies and blackmail will destroy innocent Anne's place in society, he commits "suicide by cop" attempting to escape the detective's custody.

Cast

Reception

The film earned $524,000 in the US and Canada and $314,000 elsewhere. Although MGM records do not state whether the film was profitable, the cost of $892,000 makes it likely it incurred a loss.

Critical response

Film critic Bosley Crowther panned the film. He wrote, "And childish it is, beyond question, despite the promising' presence in the cast of John Hodiak, Frances Gifford, George Murphy and other minor 'names.' It's a 'stream of consciousness' fable about a lawyer's neglected wife who takes up with a night-club owner and gets into a most embarrassing jam. It is unmercifully slow and sombre and utterly devoid of surprise."

Variety magazine was more positive. The staff wrote, "Arch Oboler, radio’s master of suspense, has effectively transposed his technique into the visual medium with The Arnelo Affair. Strictly speaking this is not a whodunit, nor can it be catalogued as a psychological suspense picture ... There’s never a question as to who committed the murder, but the crime is secondary to its effect on the characters involved. Until the film’s very climax, no hint is given to the ultimate denouement. Dialogue instills the feeling of action where none exists for much of the footage, and the gab is excellent but for a couple of spots when Oboler gives vent to florid passages."