The File on Thelma Jordon

Late one night, Thelma Jordon, Barbara Stanwyck, arrives at the district attorney’s office to report a pattern of attempted burglaries at her Aunt Vera Edwards’ home, Gertrude Hoffmann. The district attorney, Miles Scott, [Paul Kelly], is out, but she encounters assistant district attorney Cleve Marshall, [Wendell Corey], a hard-drinking, unhappy man who would rather drown his sorrows than go home to a restless marriage. Cleve invites Thelma to share a drink, and what begins as a casual meeting quickly spirals into a dangerous, intoxicating affair that pulls him deeper into her orbit.

Thelma, who claims to be estranged from her husband Tony Laredo, [Richard Rober], lives with the wealthy, reclusive Vera. One night Vera is found shot dead in the house, and Thelma calls Cleve, claiming an intruder killed Vera. Cleve helps her conceal evidence that might incriminate her, while Miles Scott launches a formal arrest of Thelma as the prime suspect. From inside the prosecution, Cleve undermines the case, steering it badly enough that the defense can plant reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors. Footprints blamed on the elusive “Mr. X” point, in truth, to Cleve himself, exposing the cover‑up and weakening the central narrative. Thelma is acquitted and unexpectedly inherits Vera’s fortune, and more of her past emerges: she did kill Vera, and Tony—who is not her husband but her lover—conceived the plan so they could share in the riches.

Cleve returns to the house knowing Thelma has been lying, and she confirms the affair with Tony, who strikes Cleve on the head, knocking him unconscious so Thelma and Tony can escape. Consumed by guilt, Thelma drives into a crisis of conscience, causing a car crash that kills Tony and leaves her fatally injured. As she lay dying in the hospital, she confesses the truth to Miles Scott, yet refuses to name the man she loves as Mr. X. The district attorney realizes the scandal must point to Cleve, and warns him he will be disbarred. Cleve insists he had already begun to confess when he heard about the crash, and he walks away from the courtroom—and his old life—toward an uncertain, new future.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 10:48