the secret fury and in many way a run of the mill romantic suspense drama ( direct by mel ferrer ) boast top notch principal in colbert and ryan while it stay puzzle if not quite grip until towards the end and when implausibility conquers suspension of disbelief a so often it do in this genre . but for some viewer the film highlight will be the portrayal of blowsy leah by vivian vance the immortal ethel mertz on i love lucy . oddly and vance have very few film role while her true home be broadway and where ( among other gig ) she understudy for ethel merman . here she contribute a win turn a a chambermaid suborn to play a minor part in a nefarious scheme while watch her half heartedly try to wave away the smoke when she puff a furtive cigarette in the hotel linen storage room a transgression for which she ultimately pay the supreme penalty .