The Arnelo Affair (1947) takes a familiar noir device, the flashback, and turns it on its ear. Within the first five minutes, the murder that is to consume the entire movie is detailed according to who did it, who didn't, and who will get the blame. Anne Parkson (Frances Gifford), married to a high profile attorney, has seen shady night club owner, Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak) on a couple of occasions and, as the story opens, we see the two together in Arnelo's car. He calmly explains to her that he killed his girlfriend and planted her compact at the scene of the crime to implicate her. Even Strangers on a Train (1951), made four years later and also using the device of planting a personal item to implicate an innocent person, didn't move this fast in getting the thrust of its story out into the open. The audience knows the crime, who did it, and who's going to get the blame before the five minute mark, making it clear that the flashback we're seeing isn't about figuring out anything except how one woman frees herself from an impossible situation.

John Hodiak came to the world's attention three years earlier but his journey to that moment of instant stardom was as unlikely as it was hard fought. Hodiak began acting as a small boy but when he tried out for acting work on the radio, he didn't make the cut. His working class Pennsylvania accent wasn't what they were looking for and Hodiak took odd jobs while working on correcting the problem. After developing a more neutral "radio voice" he landed work and, after his service in World War II, managed to sign on with not just any movie studio, but the biggest movie studio of them all, MGM. Even with a studio as big as MGM, however, Hodiak wasn't willing to compromise on his name and despite the studio chiefs wanting a catchier, more "American" sounding name, Hodiak, the proud son of Ukrainian and Polish immigrants, refused. He kept the name and within a year, found himself loaned out to 20th Century Fox to work with one of the biggest names in film then or now, Alfred Hitchcock. The movie was Lifeboat and with its release in 1944, Hodiak became a star.

Stardom doesn't always go like it's supposed to, unfortunately. Hodiak's career had some interesting and successful films but all too many were disappointments. Two of his biggest, after Lifeboat, were A Bell for Adano (1945) and Battleground (1949). Most of the time, though, he worked in smaller, low budget environments and sometimes the work paid off. The Arnelo Affair was one such case.

The Arnelo Affair works thanks to an interesting premise, a good director, two interesting leads, and two great supporting players. Its director, Arch Oboler, was a playwright as well and brought his considerable talents to bear. Despite his many anti-fascist plays of the thirties and his extensive work on the radio, he is perhaps best known as the man who directed the first ever 3-D film, Bwana Devil (1952).

The two interesting leads, Hodiak and Frances Gifford, work well together and create a personal tension between each other far more interesting than anything going on with Gifford's husband, played rather ineffectively by George Murphy. Hodiak is just menacing enough, and Gifford just vulnerable enough, to make the chemistry work.

The two great supporting players come in the form of Eve Arden and Warner Anderson. Arden is Gifford's best friend and Anderson is the detective investigating the case. As good as the leads are, when these two are on the screen the movie belongs to them.

John Hodiak may have had a much more fulfilling career once he aged a bit more and transitioned into older roles but, sadly, he was struck down by a heart attack at the young age of 41. At that point he had seen his star fade (he played the role of Lieutenant Maryk on Broadway in The Caine Mutiny only to see the role go to Van Johnson for the film adaptation) but hoped for better work. His best films were behind him but better ones may have laid ahead. The Arnelo Affair isn't as well known as Lifeboat or A Bell for Adano but it features fine work by Hodiak, Gifford, Arden, and Anderson (including a small role by a very young Dean Stockwell) and ranks as one of the better low budget noirs from the period.

Producers: Jerry Bresler Director: Arch Oboler Writers: Jane Burr (story), Arch Oboler Original Music: George Bassman Cinematography: Charles Salerno, Jr Film Editing: Harry Komer Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Wade Rubottom Costume Design: Irene Cast: John Hodiak (Tony Arnelo), George Murphy (Theodore 'Ted' Parkson), Frances Gifford (Anne Parkson), Dean Stockwell (Ricky Parkson), Eve Arden (Vivian Delwyn), Warner Anderson (Det. Sam Leonard), Lowell Gilmore (Dr. Avery Border), Archie Twitchell (Roger Alison), Ruth Brady (Dorothy Alison), Ruby Dandridge (Maybelle - Parkson's Maid), Joan Woodbury (Claire Lorrison)

By Greg Ferrara