The Woman on the Beach (1947)

61% of users liked it
(129 ratings)

A WWII Coast Guard veteran, Lt. Scott Burnett (Robert Ryan), is plagued by nightmares of his combat days. One day, he meets a woman, Peggy Butler (Joan Bennett), walking on a beach, picking up pieces of wood. Butler is married to a grumpy, blind painter, Ted Butler (Charles Bickford). Despite his… More A WWII Coast Guard veteran, Lt. Scott Burnett (Robert Ryan), is plagued by nightmares of his combat days. One day, he meets a woman, Peggy Butler (Joan Bennett), walking on a beach, picking up pieces of wood. Butler is married to a grumpy, blind painter, Ted Butler (Charles Bickford). Despite his affections for his fiancée Eve (Nan Leslie), whose father is a boat builder, Scott falls in love with Peggy and soon breaks off the engagement. Peggy reveals that she blinded her husband years earlier by throwing a glass at him during an ugly spat, ruining his career and her own ambitions to be an upper-class socialite. Scott fears that Ted is suspicious that he is having an affair with Peggy and becomes so paranoid that he begins to believe that Ted is faking his blindness -- and sets out to prove it. This was the fifth and final American film by the great French writer-director Jean Renoir. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 11 min.
Directed By: Jean Renoir
Genres: Drama, Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Jun 2, 1947 Wide

Critic Reviews

Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Renoir's expert framing and intuitive direction bring out the vivid emotions of this setup. For such a thin film, the result packs a potent punch.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
One can only imagine how the pic would have looked without RKO interference.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

No Featured Audience Ratings Found…

Cast

            Joan Bennett as Peggy Butler

            Robert Ryan as Lt. Scott Burnett

            Charles Bickford as Ted Butler

            Nan Leslie as Eve Geddes

            Walter Sande as Otto Wernecke

            Irene Ryan as Mrs. Wernecke

            Glenn Vernon as Kirk

            Frank Darien as Lars

            Jay Norris as Jimmy

            Hugh Chapman as Young Fisherman

            Kay Christopher
            
            Marie Dodd as Nurse

            Carl Faulkner as Old Fisherman

            Harry Harvey as Dr. Smith

            Robert Manning as Coast Guardsman

            Charles Pawley as Barton

            Nancy Saunders as Girls at Party

            Bill Shannon as Blacksmith

            Harry Tyler as Carter

            Jackie Jackson as Johnnie

            Bonnie Blair
            
            Carol Donell
            
            Drew Miller
            
            John Elliott as Old Workman

            Robert Anderson
            
See full cast

Now you can share movies with your friends on Facebook!

Discover movies your friends are watching
Keep track of what you want to see
Add your reviews to your Timeline

Get Started