This is a vastly underrated film. The fact that the Catholic Church condemned it in 1940, is in my estimation, one of the highest compliments you can give a script. And the reason they condemned it was not for the relatively lame sex scenes with Crawford. Those scenes were no worse than Colbert's scenes in It Happened One Night. No, the real reason the Catholic Church banned this film in 1940 was because the protagonist (Ian Hunter) was much more Chirst-like than the official doctrines of the Catholic Church at the time. The philosophical content of the film is considerable. The performances of all three leading players, including Gable and Crawford are outstanding.
Gable shows his darker side in this film, and it is interesting to his character unfold. Crawford, on the other hand, seems to have the crisper dialogue in this wonderfully written screenplay. She is absolutely perfect for this role, as it was not too much of a stretch from her real-life persona. I am not a big Crawford fan, but she does a great job in this film. Her and Gable were a real-life item off the big screen as well. She was not a beautiful woman, like several of her contemporary actresses, but she was certainly in total control of all the assets she did have. She had a harder heart than an IRS bill collector. Don't miss this gem of a film.
Gable shows his darker side in this film, and it is interesting to his character unfold. Crawford, on the other hand, seems to have the crisper dialogue in this wonderfully written screenplay. She is absolutely perfect for this role, as it was not too much of a stretch from her real-life persona. I am not a big Crawford fan, but she does a great job in this film. Her and Gable were a real-life item off the big screen as well. She was not a beautiful woman, like several of her contemporary actresses, but she was certainly in total control of all the assets she did have. She had a harder heart than an IRS bill collector. Don't miss this gem of a film.