All the right ingredients are here for a perfect adaptation of Collins'
novel: a perfect (almost) cast, perfect art direction, nice camera
work, and a charmingly low-key score by Max Steiner, largely
based on English late renaissance music. So what went wrong?
They decided not to base the plot on the novel, that's what went
wrong. (Warning: spoilers ahead.) Sir Percival's biggest secret in
the book is that all of his titles are fake; why is this never brought
up? And Hartwright's sudden switcheroo from Laura to Marian at
the end makes no sense, is totally out of character, and doesn't
happen in the novel. At the end of the movie you get the
impression he's now married to both of them, lucky guy. Gig
Young is miscast, in any case, but everyone else is spot on: Count
Fosco is a most unlikely villain, but Greenstreet is the only actor on
earth who could possibly play him, absolutely evil and charming at
the same time and despite his 350 lbs or so, he moves like a cat.
Believe it or not, Countess Fosco really is like Agnes Moorehead;
and John Abbott's turn as Frederick Fairlie is wonderful, a great
comic performance. Author Collins enjoyed turning the conventional oh-so-sweet Victorian heroine cliche on its ear, and
in this book he contrasts Laura, who is that cliche personified, with
the altogether more hardheaded Marian. Alexis Smith is too
beautiful for the part, but is otherwise just right. This movie needs
a release on video; not many people know it, but devotees of
atmospheric old movies should definitely give it a look, despite its
deficiencies.
novel: a perfect (almost) cast, perfect art direction, nice camera
work, and a charmingly low-key score by Max Steiner, largely
based on English late renaissance music. So what went wrong?
They decided not to base the plot on the novel, that's what went
wrong. (Warning: spoilers ahead.) Sir Percival's biggest secret in
the book is that all of his titles are fake; why is this never brought
up? And Hartwright's sudden switcheroo from Laura to Marian at
the end makes no sense, is totally out of character, and doesn't
happen in the novel. At the end of the movie you get the
impression he's now married to both of them, lucky guy. Gig
Young is miscast, in any case, but everyone else is spot on: Count
Fosco is a most unlikely villain, but Greenstreet is the only actor on
earth who could possibly play him, absolutely evil and charming at
the same time and despite his 350 lbs or so, he moves like a cat.
Believe it or not, Countess Fosco really is like Agnes Moorehead;
and John Abbott's turn as Frederick Fairlie is wonderful, a great
comic performance. Author Collins enjoyed turning the conventional oh-so-sweet Victorian heroine cliche on its ear, and
in this book he contrasts Laura, who is that cliche personified, with
the altogether more hardheaded Marian. Alexis Smith is too
beautiful for the part, but is otherwise just right. This movie needs
a release on video; not many people know it, but devotees of
atmospheric old movies should definitely give it a look, despite its
deficiencies.
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