In this Academy Award- nominated film (Best Writing, Original Story), young Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) inadvertently causes the death of her cruel, authoritarian aunt. Martha lies to the cops, and Walter (Kirk Douglas), who saw the crime, corroborates the girl's story. Eventually, they wed out of convenience; the meek Walter is genuinely in love, and Martha thinks that her secret is safe since she has married the one witness to her aunt's death.. However, when her childhood pal, Sam (Van Heflin), shows up, Martha knows her dark past may not stay a secret for long.. Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival.. "A gripping film noir, all the more effective for being staged by Milestone as a steamy romantic melodrama." - Derek Adams, Time Out