Joan Bennett had three distinct phases to her long and successful career , first as a winsome blonde ingenue , then as a brunette femme fatale and , finally , as a warm-hearted wife\/mother figure . Bennett had three distinct phases to her long and successful career , first as a winsome blonde ingenue , then as a sensuous brunette femme fatale ( with looks that movie magazines often compared to those of Hedy Lamarr ) , and finally as a warmhearted wife\/mother figure .