This Was a Woman

{{Infobox film

| name = This Was a Woman

| image = This_Was_a_Woman_(1948_film).jpg

| caption = Trade ad, Kinematograph Weekly, 1948

| director = Tim Whelan

| producer = Marcel Hellman

| writer = Val Valentine (adapted from the film treatment by Joan Morgan)

| based_on = play This Was a Woman by Joan Morgan

| starring = {{ubl|Sonia Dresdel|Walter Fitzgerald|Emrys Jones}}

| music = Mischa Spoliansky

| cinematography = {{ubl|Hal Britten|Günther Krampf}}

| editing = Edward B. Jarvis

| studio = Excelsior Films

| distributor = Twentieth Century Fox

| released = {{film date|df=yes|1948|6|21|United Kingdom|1949|1|4|United States}}

| runtime = 102 minutes

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

This Was a Woman is a 1948 British crime film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Sonia Dresdel, Walter Fitzgerald and Emrys Jones.Keaney p.200 It was made at the Riverside Studios with sets designed by the art directors Ivan King and Andrew Mazzei.{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b837735|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215122856/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b837735|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 February 2020|title=This Was a Woman (1948)|publisher=}} Based on a successful play by former film actress Joan Morgan,{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joan-morgan-550153.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joan-morgan-550153.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Joan Morgan|publisher=}}{{cbignore}} its plot concerns an outwardly respectable family dominated by a murderous matriarch.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/this-was-a-woman-v113414#McCg0p4c574axDWS.99|title=This Was a Woman (1949) - Tim Whelan, Sr. - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie|website=AllMovie}}

Plot

Sylvia Russell is a woman who likes to get her own way. With a huge ambition to exercise power, she has had to be content with manipulating and demoralising her sweet natured husband and controlling the lives of her children, all while presenting the appearance of a devoted wife and mother.

When her daughter Fenella announces that she is going to marry Val, Sylvia is furious at this sign of independence and while pretending to welcome Val into the family, does everything she can to undermine the marriage, eventually splitting the couple up.

Her son, although not really understanding why, chooses never to bring his girlfriend to the house; is he beginning to comprehend his mother's true character?

When Austin, her husband's old friend, returns to England after many successful years abroad with the same company, Sylvia sees a chance to further her ambitions. She feels sure that she can achieve the power she craves with the right person at her side. And then her husband falls ill...

Cast

{{cast listing|

Sonia Dresdel as Sylvia Russell
Walter Fitzgerald as Arthur Russell
Emrys Jones as Terry Russell
Barbara White as Fenella Russell
Scott Forbes as Dr. Valentine Christie
Cyril Raymond as Austin Penrose
Marjorie Rhodes as Mrs. Holmes
Celia Lipton as Effie
Lesley Osmond as Sally
Kynaston Reeves as Dr. Morrison
Joan Hickson as Miss Johnson
Clive Morton as Company Director
Percy Walsh as Professor of Music
Noel Howlett as Chief Surgeon Barclay
Gus McNaughton as Vet Surgeon

}}

== Music ==

In several scenes, White plays several other compositions, having from the age of ten initially viewing a future career as a concert pianist.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article147801083 |title=Bungalow Theatre |newspaper=Maryborough Chronicle |issue=24,444 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=20 June 1950 |access-date=9 February 2025 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}} One piece was a concerto written especially for White to play by Russian-born composer Mischa Spoliansky (1898–1985).