So Evil My Love Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

So Evil My Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 22, 2026

Lewis Allen's "So Evil My Love" (1948) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critic Imogen Sara Smith and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

We will go to America.

Bad people are all around us. If they are difficult to recognize, it is only because one is not looking long and hard enough. This is the main message of Lewis Allen’s film So Evil My Love. A short text appearing after its opening credits clarifies that it is part of a true story, supposedly “one of the strangest in the annals of crime.”

The story is interesting, and that it was used to make a film is hardly surprising, but it is not strange. In fact, each of the relationships it follows, and all of its revelations about the true nature of men and women, which are quite a few, could not be any more conventional. Men and women of all ages have always treated each other as depicted in So Evil My Love, which is why variations of its supposedly unusually strange story have been presented in countless novels that are hundreds of years old.

Sometime during the 1890s. On a ship bound for Liverpool, Mark Bellis (Ray Milland), an artist-turned-con artist, meets Olivia Harwood (Ann Todd), a missionary’s widow. Bellis is able to quickly recover from a terrible sickness after Harwood reluctantly agrees to treat him, and just days after the ship reaches Liverpool, he rings the doorbell of the lodging house where she resides. While claiming he is broke and using his charm in the best possible way, Bellis then hands Harwood his last money and convinces her to rent him a room.

Shortly after, Bellis carefully melts Harwood’s heart, asks her to pose for him while he paints her portrait, and the two become lovers. While sparks fly, Bellis then begins reshaping Harwood into a shameless, very dangerous chameleon.

Genuinely believing that her transformation is temporary and required only so that she and her lover can build the life they both desire, Harwood reconnects with childhood friend Susan Courtney (Geraldine Fitzgerald), who is stuck in an awful marriage with one of the wealthiest and quite possibly coldest aristocrats in Liverpool. While exploiting her friend’s misery and chronic alcoholism, and following instructions from her lover, Harwood steals money, stocks, and bonds, and eventually becomes the central piece in an unusually bold blackmailing scheme. However, despite making the right progress, Harwood is forced to improvise, and when her friend kills her husband, her conscience resets her transformation.

A large portion of the narrative creates the impression that Harwood is a good woman under the spell of a bad man, who pulls her strings like a master puppeteer. However, another part of the narrative also leaves the impression that Harwood is a similarly shameless puppeteer, recognizing and targeting the weaknesses of a miserable, broken friend just as effectively. Her excuse for being like her lover is simply portrayed as vastly better. In another part of the narrative, the exploited are also revealed as shameless actors who, if presented with the right opportunities, would behave exactly like Harwood and her lover. They emerge as good characters only because their opposition outplays them.

In the 1940s, the cynicism that permeates So Evil My Love may have been a bit too much for some viewers, but today it is a natural element of the relationship between men and women. In fact, in nine out of ten cases, it is the foundation for this relationship, and for the exact same reason, Harwood agrees to begin manipulating her childhood friend – cynicism provides clarity and makes progress easier to manage.

The finale compromises the integrity of the leading characters, but this is an unavoidable development. After all, it is why the true story that inspired So Evil My Love is known. However, in the most popular variations of this story, which have been around for centuries, the evil winners preserve their composure and move on to the next phase of their game.

So Evil My Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, So Evil My Love arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent, exclusive 2K master, which produces good organic visuals. However, in an ideal world, additional restoration would have been performed to ensure that various age-related weaknesses are addressed so that the entire film has an even better and more attractive appearance. The current presentation of the film frequently reveals areas with small yet unmissable surface imperfections, like blemishes and density inconsistencies. Delineation, clarity, and depth are easy to describe as good. However, they are no always optimal, and it is not because of unique fluctuations that can be traced back to the original cinematography. Virtually all fluctuations are introduced by the element used to create the 2K master. They grayscale is very convincing. In fact, its strength is one of the most attractive qualities of the 2K master. While a few shaky transitions exist, image stability is good. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections, such as filtering, sharpening, or contrast boosting. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

So Evil My Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All exchanges throughout the film are clear and easy to follow. However, in several areas, background hiss becomes prominent. For example, the hiss can be heard during the art exhibition, where Susan Courtney reconnects with her former lover. Surprisingly, all of the music is healthy and frequently creates good contrast. There are no audio dropouts.

So Evil My Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by critic Imogen Sara Smith.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for So Evil My Love. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

So Evil My Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stories like the one told in So Evil My Love become popular for the same reason stories about lottery winners who end up broke are -- the collapse of their characters exposes them, and they can be retold. Rarely, if ever, there is someone to retell the other stories like it, where the players avoid the collapse and flawlessly execute their plan. These players remain anonymous and take their stories to their graves. The most interesting element of the story told in So Evil My Love is that there are no good characters in it, only compromised players who ruin each other in the most extreme ways possible. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a recent, somewhat rough, but still pretty good 2K master. RECOMMENDED.