I watched this movie five days ago, and I have to admit I had to read the entire Wikipedia synopsis to remember what had happened. My mind was completely blank on the plot details. You would think that would mean I didn’t like it, but the opposite is true – I liked it a lot. I guess I’ve just slept since then.

So Evil My Love is a twisty film noir set in Liverpool during the Victorian era (Wikipedia says this subgenre of Victorian noirs is called Gaslight Noirs, and I just love that). Ray Milland stars as Mark Bellis, and Ann Todd plays Olivia Harwood. They meet on a boat returning from the West Indies. He is a rapscallion and a thief; she’s the widow of a missionary.

He’s sick on the boat with malaria, and she nurses him back to health. When they land in Liverpool, he charms her into letting him stay at her boarding house. A romance ensues.

He learns she’s got a rich friend and talks her into asking the rich lady for money. Then she becomes the rich lady’s paid companion. Meanwhile, Bellis is attempting burglary and stepping out with another woman. He pushes Olivia into blackmailing her friend.

It is less of a mystery and more of a naive woman being beguiled by a lecherous older man. The stuff between Bellis and Olivia is golden. The first act is a real treat. But when the plot turns to her rich friend and all those shenanigans, it becomes a bit of a bore. Thankfully, it turns a corner towards the end and creates a completely satisfying closing.

Well worth checking out.