The File on Thelma Jordon

The File on Thelma Jordon is a 1950 American film noir drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey. The screenplay by Ketti Frings, based on an unpublished short story by Marty Holland, concerns a woman who pretends to fall in love with an assistant district attorney and uses him to escape conviction for the murder of her wealthy aunt. Plot Thelma Jordon shows up late one night in the office of the district attorney to report a series of attempted burglaries at her Aunt Vera's home. The district attorney, Miles Scott, is out, but she meets the assistant district attorney, Cleve Marshall, an unhappily married man who would rather get drunk than go home. Cleve asks her to join him for a drink and she agrees. Before he can stop himself, he is caught up in a love affair with the mysterious, seductive Thelma. Thelma, who claims to be estranged from her husband Tony, lives with the wealthy, reclusive Vera. One night Vera hears noises in the house, picks up a gun, and is shot dead. Thelma calls Cleve, telling him that an intruder killed Vera. He helps cover up evidence that might incriminate her. When the district attorney arrests Thelma as the prime suspect, Cleve goes to work undermining the case from the inside. He takes over the prosecution and handles it so badly that the defense is able to convince the jury of reasonable doubt. Footprints belonging to an elusive "Mr X"—in fact, Cleve himself, as he engaged in the cover-up—further weaken the case. Thelma is acquitted and inherits Vera's money. More of her past is then revealed: she did kill Vera, and Tony, who is not her husband but her lover, had dreamed up the scheme so that both could get rich. When Cleve comes to the house, already aware that Thelma has been lying, she acknowledges the relationship with Tony. Tony hits Cleve over the head, knocking him out so the two can escape. Unable to deal with her guilty conscience, Thelma causes a car accident that results in her accomplice's death and her own fatal injury. As she lies dying in the hospital, she confesses the truth to the district attorney. However, she does not incriminate Cleve as Mr. X, saying she cannot reveal the man's name because she loves him. The district attorney figures it on his own and tells Cleve that he will be disbarred for his actions. Cleve replies that he had already been in the act of confessing to his complicity when he heard about the car accident. He walks away to a different life.