In 1876 Philadelphia, two sisters vie for the affections of a Frenchman who's come to town to prepare the French pavilion for the Centennial exposition.
Jeanne Crain
Julia Rogers
Cornel Wilde
Philippe Lascalles
Linda Darnell
Edith Rogers
William Eythe
Ben Phelps
Walter Brennan
Jesse Rogers
Constance Bennett
Zenia Lascalles
Dorothy Gish
Mrs. Rogers
Barbara Whiting
Susanna Rogers
Kathleen Howard
Deborah
Buddy Swan
Dudley Rogers
Paul Everton
Senator (uncredited)
Avon Long
Specialty
Charles Dingle
J.P. Snodgrass
Larry Stevens
Richard Lewis Esq
Director
Otto Preminger
Novel
Albert E. Idell
Writer
Michael Kanin
July 7, 2022
5
Right from the outset, this film mis-fires. Walter Brennan comes across as a fish out of water and Cornel Wilde, with his rather ropey French accent, just doesn't work at all well, either. The latter man, having just arrived in Philadelphia from France for the US Centennial Exposition, soon becomes the object of the affections of two sisters - Jeanne Craine ("Julie") and Linda Darnell ("Edith"). Which of them will win his affections? The problem with this film is that, though colourful - there is absolutely no chemistry anywhere to be seen. The songs from Jerome Kern are pleasant enough, but there is no showstopper - and the singing, well those are either ensemble efforts or solos from actors who, frankly, aren't very good singers. The execution of the story is not without the odd bit of humour, but the presentation looks frequently quite stagey with plenty of set piece choreography that, again, might have looked fine in a theatre but is somehow rather dated and stilted on a big screen. It is watchable, and Darnell steals the show, if anyone does, but I struggled with this rather procedural and stilted melodrama.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00