Movie

The Reckless Moment

1949 · 82 min

A taut, melancholic noir that tightens like a vise, blending domestic anxiety with moral compromise and a quietly devastating emotional undertow.

Directed by: Max Ophüls
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Starring: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks

Tagline: It could happen to so many married women!
Overview: After discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.

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Free in the UK

Tubi TV

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Directed by: Max Ophüls
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Starring: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: tensestrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
romanticstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: family
guilt
class
love
crime
Places: small town
home
big city
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language none
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	2
Humour	2
Realism	7
Romance	4
Tension	7
Darkness	6
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	7

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Where to watch in the UK

Free

Tubi TV

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: drama, thriller, crime
Directed by: Max Ophüls
Written by: Robert Soderberg, Henry Garson
Starring: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O'Neill, Shepperd Strudwick, David Bair, Roy Roberts, Jessie Arnold
Music: Hans J. Salter
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Runtime: 82 min
Country: United States of America
Languages: English

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The Reckless Moment

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