I don't find this an especially stirring version of the story of Joan of Arc. Shaw's play, seen on stage, is much more vivid (though talky, as are most Shavian works). But it has a young Ingrid Bergman as Joan and if you need to be reminded of how beautiful she was and what screen presence she possessed, you owe it to yourself to see this 1948 film. Jose Ferrer also appears in the movie in one of his early roles and numerous other name actors of the period are distributed among the characters. Considering that the script is by Maxwell Anderson, the dialog is surprising flat and uninspiring. Victor Fleming is the director but it is not clear to me what exactly he brought to the party. There's a fair amount of spectacle but it is vintage spectacle and in no way comparable to what could be (and is) done today, even in movies for TV. Ingrid Bergman's persona is all that makes this film believable in any way. She almost carries it the distance. I once saw the Shaw play with a 19-year-old college kid as Saint Joan. That girl, like Bergman, made Saint Joan believable because she inhabited the role. Jean Seberg, a few years later, was Saint Joan in a film based on Shaw's play and she just didn't have what it takes. But Bergman did.
Review of Joan of Arc
