Third time ‘round for this rather sticky liebestod between a classical composer in career crisis (Charles Boyer) and the besotted teenage girl crushing on him (Oscar® nom’ed Joan Fontaine). No doubt, the sexual aspect of the relationship, downplayed if still resonating here, felt less ‘icky’ in Pre-#MeToo days, but the plot depends on it! Less problematic is the music side of things, where Boyer’s initial rejection of his natural gift for lush chromatic late romanticism in pursuit of more intellectually fashionable percussive dissonance, strikingly mirrors the situation film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold faced back in the concert hall after WWII. The film has Boyer briefly embracing his true musical nature during a visit to aging mentor Montague Love and his bohemian family of lovely girls from assorted wives. Boyer adores them all, but sees them only as children, marrying their wealthy, socially connected cousin, Alexis Smith, who grows jealous of Fontaine . . . and with good cause! Sophisticated, fascinating stuff to think about, but Kathryn Scola’s script & Edmund Goulding’s direction opt for breathless hysteria to signify artistic temperament (and just about anything else), while letting everyone overplay wildly.* And though a large cast list looks tasty (Peter Lorre, Charles Coburn, Dame May Whitty), they don’t get a lot to do. So, this one’s really for Korngold mavens, with its gorgeous chance to hear him musically riffing on a morbid subject as close as he ever got on film to the dark psychological musings of his operatic masterpieces DIE TOTE STADT (with its VERTIGO-like plot) and DAS WUNDER DER HELIANE (with its nude resurrection element!)
DOUBLE-BILL: *Six years further removed from her teenage years, Fontaine got this character thrillingly right working with Max Ophüls in LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN WOMAN/’48.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Korngold underscores less than usual in dramatic scenes, presumably to highlight the diegetic musical moments. And that’s undoubtedly Korngold dubbing the piano parts when we see Boyer at the keyboard. (BTW, nice vocal match dubbing Fontaine when she briefly sings at the piano.)
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