The Whole Truth (1958)

Smoothly directed by John Guillermin (who, 20 years later, would helm my favorite Agatha Christie film adaptation, "Death On The Nile") and intelligently acted by a capable cast (including sultry Italian star Gianna Maria Canale), "The Whole Truth" is a slick, well-made mystery movie. It's not, however, a whodunit, like its poster claims; we learn who the killer is early on. It's more of a cat-and-mouse game between the killer and the hero. Nevertheless, there are quite a few surprising plot developments. Also of note is the lively, jazzy music score by Johnny Dankworth and Lambert Williamson. Not a great film, but one that deserves to be better known. **1/2 out of 4.

Though leading man Stewart Granger has occasionally played the heel in a few films, the greatest screen cad of all George Sanders dominates this film playing a very wounded cad. He's a publisher of religious textbooks married to that most unlikely of mates, the voluptuous movie star Gianna Marie Canale who has used her feminine wiles to get to the top of the film business. Her latest conquest is producer Stewart Granger who is a bit down in the mouth since wife Donna Reed left him.The Whole Truth has Sanders planning a most methodical revenge against his wife and against Granger whom he sees as the pinnacle of all the men Canale cheated on him with. Sanders gives an academy award winning performance, even better than the Oscar winning one he got for All About Eve with the French police.Though The Whole Truth is far from All About Eve it's a decent enough thriller with Hollywood's greatest cad dominating the proceedings.

I rated this film 5/10 as it was no more than par for the course.The minute George Sanders appeared, I knew he was going to play another suave sophisticated villain as he has played in so many other films.Donna Reed must have been disappointed with her rather anodyne part and Stewart Granger does his best with the dialogue in the mediocre screenplay.As far as I was concerned, the star of the film was the 1958 white Jaguar XK3 sports car.A few location shots around the south of France were seen but the rest was obviously shot in a film studio.The most farcical shot was a so called "car chase" that seemed to be wholly and claustrophobically shot on the film set where the cars seemed to be going round in circles around the artificial buildings!

This film is quite similar to the George Sanders flick of 1954, "Witness to Murder." Again, Sanders is a murderer who is trying to drive everyone batty. This time, his victim is Stewart Granger, who he nicely frames for the killing of his Italian actress wife. The beginning scenes show this wife as a screaming, hot tempered woman in the same vain as the late Anna Magnani.Donna Reed plays Granger's wife. It appears that she is willing to at first believe that Granger had committed the murder. He was romantically involved with Sanders' wife. Reed is much more subdued in this film. Was she preparing for her kindly the Donna Reed television show on television? She lacks the fire that won her the supporting Oscar as Montgomery Clift's girl friend in the magnificent "From Here to Eternity."