Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan are both too old for this screwy tale of a wedding interrupted by the claim that the bride is already married. She looks far too matronly-sensible to be driven insane, as she is, by a lot of suborned witnesses (or actors) who, apparently, wait at home for Colbert and Ryan to come calling on them (and who somehow manage to ensure that they will be in a certain hotel room rather than any of the others). He is a far too interesting actor to waste on a script that has him either rushing around after clues or consoling Claudette. And why is she a successful concert pianist? We expect that, or at least her sensitivity to sounds and music, to have something to do with the story, but it is just a pointless detail.So terrible is the writing that we never find out who killed the murdered man or how! (He was alone in a room with Claudette when he was suddenly shot dead. Did the instigator of the plot pay him so much that he was willing to kill himself?) And, if you are still suspending disbelief, the movie cuts it loose in the final scene, in which Claudette, who has been incarcerated in a high-security mental institution, has managed to escape, to travel at least several miles back to her home, and to acquire a loaded gun! The movie aims to start on a cute note by showing Ryan walking into the house where he is to be married and being refused admission because he does not have an invitation. He meekly goes out and tries to get in the back way, but a security guard blocks him there too. Why on earth doesn't he say he is the groom and prove it with some ID? The writers may have been pleased with their supposedly humorous idea, but it's not funny because it doesn't make any sense. Who except Caspar Milquetoast would behave that way? Certainly not Robert Ryan!

Just saw it on TMC. The contents of the movie slowly aims at the aunt being the villain, with the motive of getting Ellen out of the way in order to gain an inheritance. I believe that for some unknown reason the writers came up with the implausible ending.I thought that the movie was pretty well done. I think the fight scene between Ryan and the killer was filmed in subdued lighting because of the use of a stand in for Ryan.Even though Ryan's '49 Buick was pretty big, it seemed that Ryan took a long time to realize that there was someone in the back seat. Also, how come when the Buick crashed into the trash cans there was no damage to the right front. I guess Buick were built pretty strong back then.

I was surprised, that ''The Secret Fury'' was an enjoyable good film...... Probably because, I didn't have any expectations for this movie..... Though, the film does have it's plot holes..... I would say, that you couldn't guess who was behind the whole scheme, until the very end of the movie..... At first, I thought, it was Robert Ryan, using the same method, like ''Gaslight'' where husband tries to drive his wife mad, but I was wrong...... The main problem, with the movie is, they drive at a whole other direction, which gave no clues at the beginning...... I thought, Robert Ryan & Claudette Colbert carried their parts well...... Plus, Vivian Vance, a fine character actress, who steals scenes in this one...... Those who like movies, that keeps you guessing, will like this one......

In the hands of lesser actors than Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan this film could have become silly and trite. But, with these two experienced thespians leading the way, I found "Silent Fury" to be a most exciting and pleasurable little mystery. When their wedding is interrupted by a stranger who claims that Colbert is already married, and that he was best man at that wedding, one can sense that there is some sort of plot against her at work. As Colbert, Ryan, and her attorney set out to disprove the strangers claim of a prior marriage, they are met at every turn by more evidence that seems to reinforce the claim that she is indeed already wed. Although it's not very difficult to figure out just who the main "baddie" is, it's still lots of fun as the intensity and pace of the story increases. All in all, a good, solid mystery film with fine performances by the two leading actors and a fine supporting cast which includes the often underrated Paul Kelly.