I’ve been so frustrated watching this movie that I honestly would have liked to hoist Walter Huston’s character, “Davidson,” up by the ropes… Joan Crawford portrays "Sadie Thompson," a woman who cheerfully works as a prostitute on a South Pacific island, catering to American soldiers. However, things change when the very proper "Davidson" couple—Huston and Beulah Bondi—arrive, disrupting her lifestyle. Their disapproval of this brazen behavior prompts them to attempt to have her sent back to America (where she has a troubled history), supposedly to redeem her morals. Crawford delivers a strong performance as the woman earning a living, but Huston is even more impactful, appearing infrequently yet powerfully as he begins reciting scripture. I can’t recall another time the Lord's Prayer felt so threatening on film—or anywhere else, really. The constant rain significantly contributes to the growing emotional conflict between them as their struggle for dominance shifts back and forth—leading up to an ending that presents a few unanswered questions. Lewis Milestone clearly understood how to draw out the best performances from his actors, and with some strikingly unsettling camera work, he simply lets them proceed. As expected, Alfred Newman utilizes the orchestra to amplify the suspense. It doesn’t quite reach the same level of intensity as Gloria Swanson's performance in the 1928 "Sadie Thompson," but it remains a pleasant, albeit occasionally tense, experience.

Source on TMDB