It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt, produced by William Jacobs from a screenplay by Arthur T. Horman and Dwight Taylor, based on the story The Pentacle by Alfred Neumann and Robert Siodmak.

But on their fifth wedding anniversary, Kathryn accuses Richard of having fallen in love with her younger sister, Evelyn Turner, who is visiting them.

His puzzled physician, Dr. Grant, diagnoses the problem as psychological, not physical, and suggests exercise, so a car trip to a mountain resort is arranged.

Resuming her journey, Kathryn comes upon an abandoned parked car blocking the narrow, deserted mountain road.

He returns home in time to set up an alibi by meeting with an employee he had summoned to finish the work.

Then Richard smells Kathryn's perfume in their bedroom, finds her key to a home safe, and opens it: her wedding ring is inside.

Then a pawn shop claim ticket is mailed to Richard, addressed in what appears to be his wife's handwriting.

Unable to reconcile these occurrences any longer, Richard returns to the crime scene to see once and for all if Kathryn's body is inside the car.

In the meantime Warner Brothers decided to produce another movie on a similar theme, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, also starring Bogart and Smith, along with Barbara Stanwyck.

[1] Critic Bob Porfiero in Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style wrote in 1992: "The film is particularly memorable for the use of the song 'Tango of Love' as leitmotif to indicate the putative reappearance of Kathryn, with the background strings translating the scent of perfume; the opening tracking shot through the rain-soaked night up to the window of the Mason house, which allows the audience to eavesdrop on the dinner party; and the sinister appearance of Bogart as he steps out of the shadows to murder his wife.

"[4] (The song in question, however, is actually the 1925 composition "Jalousie (Tango Tzigane)" by Danish composer Jacob Gade.)

The only thing that can't be faulted was the earnest performances of Bogie as the tortured killer and the supporting cast of Warner Brothers regulars.