The Arnelo Affair

The Arnelo Affair
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Arch Oboler
Screenplay by	Arch Oboler
Based on	the short-story "I'll Tell My Husband" by Jane Burr
Produced by	Jerry Bresler
Starring	John Hodiak George Murphy Frances Gifford Dean Stockwell Eve Arden
Cinematography	Charles Salerno Jr.
Edited by	Harry Komer
Music by	George Bassman
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's, Inc.
Release date	February 13, 1947 (1947-02-13)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$892,000
Box office	$838,000

The Arnelo Affair is a 1947 American film noir starring John Hodiak, George Murphy, Frances Gifford, and Dean Stockwell, and co-written and directed by Arch Oboler.

Plot

A Chicago lawyer's wife, Anne Parkson (Frances Gifford) is bored and neglected. She begins meeting with one of her husband's clients, nightclub owner Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak), for interior design work. There develops an awareness between them that an affair is a possibility. One afternoon she arrives at Tony's, and soon after his girlfriend shows up. The girlfriend is upset by Anne being there and starts making a fuss. Tony arrives, hits his girlfriend, and Parkson runs out.

Police find the girlfriend murdered, Anne's unique compact near the body. Tony planted the compact, in order to blackmail and implicate Anne in the killing. He is in love with Anne and attempts to force her into leaving her husband. A homicide detective soon figures out the facts and confronts Tony. When Tony is made to realize that his lies and blackmail will destroy innocent Anne's place in society, he escapes the detective's custody in order to commit "suicide by cop".

Cast

• John Hodiak as Tony Arnelo
• George Murphy as Ted Parkson
• Frances Gifford as Anne Parkson
• Dean Stockwell as Ricky Parkson
• Eve Arden as Vivian Delwyn
• Warner Anderson as Detective Sam Leonard
• Ruth Brady as Dorothy Alison
• Lowell Gilmore as Dr. Avery Border
• Archie Twitchell as Roger Alison
• Ruby Dandridge as Maybelle, the Maid
• Joan Woodbury as Claire Lorrison

Reception

The film earned $524,000 in the US and Canada and $314,000 elsewhere. Although MGM records do not state whether the film was profitable, the production costs of $892,000 makes it likely it incurred a loss.

Critical response

Contemporary New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther panned the film. He wrote, "And childish it is, beyond question, despite the promising' presence in the cast of John Hodiak, Frances Gifford, George Murphy and other minor 'names.' It's a 'stream of consciousness' fable about a lawyer's neglected wife who takes up with a night-club owner and gets into a most embarrassing jam. It is unmercifully slow and sombre and utterly devoid of surprise."

Variety magazine's review at the time was more positive. The staff wrote, "Arch Oboler, radio’s master of suspense, has effectively transposed his technique into the visual medium with The Arnelo Affair. Strictly speaking this is not a whodunit, nor can it be catalogued as a psychological suspense picture ... There’s never a question as to who committed the murder, but the crime is secondary to its effect on the characters involved. Until the film’s very climax, no hint is given to the ultimate denouement. Dialogue instills the feeling of action where none exists for much of the footage, and the gab is excellent but for a couple of spots when Oboler gives vent to florid passages."

External links

• The Arnelo Affair at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• The Arnelo Affair at IMDb
• The Arnelo Affair at AllMovie
• The Arnelo Affair at the TCM Movie Database