jjnxn-1 Sadly obscure film noir painted in the blackest shades. Perhaps because it was made later in the cycle of film noir in color at the lower rung Republic Studios by director of little renown Stuart Heisler the film did not receive the prominence it deserves. It's not a classic of the genre in the Double Indemnity league but it is a well made, tightly paced dark journey of the soul with a couple of great performances at its core.Those two amazing performances come from artists who were often undervalued for their talents, Linda Darnell and Dan Duryea. Duryea plays a character he was known for-a cruel weasel, in this case his spirit has been twisted by his imprisonment in a wheelchair, who knows the weaknesses of those around him and takes glee in twisting the knife to ensure their misery is as profound as his. While he could play the good guy quite well his special talent was in this sort of parasite and here perhaps because he is matched against someone who can match him talent wise, Miss Darnell, his performance seems particularly sharp.The real standout though is Linda Darnell in one of her very best performances. Often wasted through her years as a top star at 20th Century Fox as mere decoration whenever she was given the opportunity to prove her mettle she always came through and was then sent back to pretty up another minor film. A shame had she been properly utilized she had the potential to be a tragedienne of the first order. This is one of those opportunities, unfortunately it came after her peak years and didn't slow the decline of her star-she would only make four more feature films spread out over the next 11 years. Her ironically named Vida Dove, meaning peaceful life, is living anything but. Lonely and full of bitterness at having to live with her sister, Faith Domergue, well cast since she and Linda could be sisters, who has married her former flame, Duryea now in that wheelchair. Shackled to them and tortured by him she is desperate for any way out. When she and Duryea square off it is truly an acting fireworks show. Enter handsome Rick Jason and a possible escape until he gets a look at Faith, also seeking an way out from the viperish Dan. Of course this sets the stage for unimaginable tragedy but it wouldn't be a noir if it didn't. Its all well presented but what sets it apart is the superior work of the top lined duo. Very hard to find but worth the effort.

judy-k-huddleston anyone know where i could get a copy of THIS IS MY LOVE . rick jason is great. he was lt. hanley in the COMBAT TV series. loved his voice. wonder why he did not become a bigger star, linda darnell was also a great actress and i read she died in a fire when she went in to get a child. wish that other rick jason stories were available as he not only could act well, he was very handsome. rick jason wrote in his autobiography that linda darnell was excellent to work with and played her role very well. rick jason is a fox in a henhouse. darnell and married sister both want him, and who can blame them. but this leads to trouble. tensions build and come to a climax, i especially liked jason taking darnell dancing. well worth seeing.

timshelboy This is my love the love I thought would be These are my tears that you will never see..." an unheralded gem of a romantic melodrama. Not really noir - but not that far away either - and Linda Darnell is popping up this month... As soon as Franz Waxman's lush score swelled up over the credits I knew this one would deliver - and I wasn't disappointed. Vida (Linda Darnell) is a "spinster" who slings hash in her Brother in Law's diner and is engaged to the world's most boring man. Into the diner wanders her fiancée's army buddy - foxy Rick Jason - a "gas station casanova", and when left alone together Rick comes on to her... she plays hard to get - so hard to get in fact that Rick turns to her married sister Evelyn (Faith Domergue) for comfort, and the stage is set for resentment, deceit, adultery, jealousy, sibling rivalry.. and murder. This one really deserves to be better known. I'm not sure whether the lurid greens and purples that dominate the colour scheme are symbolic of the jealousy and anger simmering below the surface, and mark out Stuart Heisler as an neglected auteur... or it was just a lousy print. Connie Russell sings the tune with lyrics as Darnell and Jason go out dancing. Dan Duryea is a bitter cripple. and Darnell is absolutely heartbreaking here - never knew she had it in her. Its everything I wanted from Douglas Sirk or late period Minnelli and never got. Absolutely delicious from start to finish and highly recommended. 9/10 (on my fourth watch now in one week!)

Marta ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I hate to say any film is terrible, but this one almost fits the bill. Linda Darnell and Faith Domergue are sisters; Darnell single but engaged, and Domergue married to Dan Duryea, a dancer who was in a bad car accident and is now a paraplegic. They own a restaurant, where all the plot lines conveniently converge.Everything about the film screams early 50's potboiler/soap opera, and everything in the film is written to conveniently accommodate the plotline, which was outdated even then: Duryea was a fabulous, sexy dancer (which was the only reason Domergue could find to love him), but is now confined to a wheelchair and vents his anger on everyone he sees, setting up the plot point for her to have an affair; Darnell has a fiance, but she keeps putting marriage off so she can write her fantasies; Darnell's fiance brings a friend, Rick Jason, to meet her, and then just happens to go off and leave the two of them alone numerous times, pointedly making references about how the friend is going to steal his girl; the same song is played far too many times as Rick tries to make love to Darnell; the list of coincidences just goes on and on.Rick Jason gives a thoughtful, restrained performance in only his 3rd film role, and is the one good thing about this movie. Everyone else in the film seems to have gotten their Masters degree from the Bill Shatner School of Overacting, and passed all their classes with flying colors. And, in a film crowded with hamminess, Dan Duryea wins the award for most flagrant, over-the-top performance in any film, ever; he yells, grimaces, convulses, accuses his wife of infidelity in a shrill falsetto voice, uses his wheelchair to dance to a sonata while everyone watches in intense discomfort (the audience included), and does god knows what else to make the film a virtual nightmare to endure.If you are a fan of any of these actors, and especially Jason, you can probably sit through this film and enjoy it on a minimal level. Anyone else will never make it, and if they do they deserve an award of their own. It's unavailable on video or anywhere else, which is a blessing in disguise and is completely understandable once you see the film.