Never saw the attraction of the foppish Mr Leslie Howard, here, in Gone with Wind, The Scarlet Pimpernel, etc etc. That Scarlett O'Hara would pine for such a wuss for a lifetime always made me laugh. He has no screen presence at all, no vibe, nothing cinematically special.
As for the much vaunted Ms Ingrid Bergman, another totally ordinary screen presence, and her perennial "continental" accent grating to boot.
Neither would have achieved much "stardom" today, in a field so utterly crowded with real gifted natural actors.
The story of the "love story" here is also pretty silly. Totally predictable in the first 10 minutes of the thing.
Perhaps in its time it was considered scandalous, now I say: big deal.
What IS a big deal is the much put upon wife welcoming the cad "home" at the end. A home he was perfectly happy to abandon with such wanton abandon.
The old Hollywood trope of women either as saints or femmes fatales. And not a real convincing complex woman in sight.
Five stars for the sheer historical curiosity value and for the best thing in this mediocrity: the luminous child Anne Todd. Now there's a girl worth watching on the screen.
As for the much vaunted Ms Ingrid Bergman, another totally ordinary screen presence, and her perennial "continental" accent grating to boot.
Neither would have achieved much "stardom" today, in a field so utterly crowded with real gifted natural actors.
The story of the "love story" here is also pretty silly. Totally predictable in the first 10 minutes of the thing.
Perhaps in its time it was considered scandalous, now I say: big deal.
What IS a big deal is the much put upon wife welcoming the cad "home" at the end. A home he was perfectly happy to abandon with such wanton abandon.
The old Hollywood trope of women either as saints or femmes fatales. And not a real convincing complex woman in sight.
Five stars for the sheer historical curiosity value and for the best thing in this mediocrity: the luminous child Anne Todd. Now there's a girl worth watching on the screen.