Ivy

Russell Metty's gorgeous low-key camerawork sets the tone for this Edwardian chiller with a wonderfully moody opening sequence at a fortune-teller's where Fontaine learns that her destiny is to become a murderess. Demurely grasping ambition aiding, she is soon on her way to black widowhood by poisoning her husband, framing her lover, and setting her sights on the next victim. Based on a novel by Mrs Belloc Lowndes (of The Lodger) and given an exquisite period gloss by William Cameron Menzies' designs, it's a little bland but a real pleasure on the eye.