A woman is unhappy in her marriage to a boring, stiff judge, so she takes up with a wild-living RAF pilot, who ends up being more than she can handle. (TCM.com)
Vivien Leigh
Hester Collyer
Kenneth More
Freddie Page
Eric Portman
Miller
Emlyn Williams
Sir William Collyer
Moira Lister
Dawn Maxwell
Arthur Hill
Jackie Jackson
Dandy Nichols
Mrs. Elton
Alec McCowen
Ken Thompson
Jimmy Hanley
Dicer Durston
Heather Thatcher
Lady Dawson
Bill Shine
Golfer
Brian Oulton
Drunk
Sid James
Man outside bar
Director
Anatole Litvak
Screenplay, Theatre Play
Terence Rattigan
November 14, 2022
6
I can't help but feel that this film is one purely for devotees of Vivien Leigh, rather than one with much more general appeal. Her depiction of the rather selfish "Hester", stuck in an unhappy marriage with High Court Judge "Sir William" (Emyln Williams) whilst having a pretty open affair with former fighter pilot "Freddie" (Kenneth More) is really rather frosty, almost sterile. We start as she is found asleep in a chair, knocked out by a combination of sleeping pills and the gas from the fire. Eric Portman, a fellow lodger, helps revive her and we gradually begin to unravel her complicated situation driven by an almost self-destructive approach to her own life and to her relationships with both of her men. Sadly, though Williams performs adequately as her still loving and supportive husband, Moore and Leigh have no chemistry at all. He seems content to offer us little more than a hybrid preview performance of his Douglas Bader character from ("Reach for the Sky" made the next year) coupled with some drink-induced over acting, and she makes little impact on the complex nature of the characters offered us by Terence Rattigan. The production, like the whole thing, is competent and well put together, it's all just a bit flat and I was quite disappointed with the lack of warmth and passion in this tale of, essentially, warmth and passion...
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00