There’s a truncated feel to this isosceles love triangle: Kay Francis & Errol Flynn sharing equal lengths of passion while husband Ian Hunter gets stuck with the short angle. It’s not the budget, generously laying on one of those British Desert Forts, with mobs of armed men & horseflesh working to keep the peace between warring Arab tribesmen; William Dieterle to helm; Tony Gaudio lensing; even a rich Erich Wolfgang Korngold score.* But someone pulled the plug before they finished. Hunter, commanding officer back at the fort, is on a break in England when he meets and soon offers companionate marriage to young widow Francis. Never expecting to find another true love after losing her adventurous first husband, Francis immediately falls hard for dashing second-in-command Flynn when she returns to base with Hunter. Everyone knows what’s up; everyone wants to do the right thing; everyone utterly miserable. Only battle action can resolve this thing. Especially with an ending that’s reshot after negative audience testing. Even so, Flynn & Francis are so well matched, you root for the film to come off. Francis, connecting with a role that doesn’t rely on exposed decolletage; Flynn showing new emotional depth in intimate scenes between all the borrowed renunciation tropes & dramatic patches. Worth a look just as missed opportunity.
LINK: *Korngold’s score is oddly ‘spotted’ in some scenes. He found better use for the film’s Love Theme, using it to open his violin concerto. Here’s Hilary Hahn (with Kent Nagano). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcGEGl5bdbk
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