A Woman's Devotion

BATTLE SHOCK and WAR SHOCK were the titles bestowed by British distributors upon the Paul Henreid-directed psychological drama A WOMAN'S DEVOTION. Ralph Meeker stars as Trevor Stevenson, an emotionally scarred World War II veteran who has channelled his fears and phobias into his painting. At present, he is in Acapulco on his honeymoon with bride, Stella (Janice Rule). Shortly after Trevor's arrival, two women are murdered. The audience is presented with a "lady or the tiger" situation, with clues pointing to Trevor's guilt or innocence depending upon one's point-of-view. Henreid cagily avoids telling us the whole story -- continuing to withhold information right up to the grim finale. Trevor's behavior in the climactic scenes is an interesting precursor to the "crazed Vietnam vet" school of drama.