Hmm, Bette Davis and George Brent. When did I last see them together? Oh yeah. And before that? Yup. I think they were in a rut, because there are definite similarities herein.
Aviator Peter (George Brent) learns on his "honeymoon" that his marriage is null and void, partly because he was drunk but mainly because Sandra (Mary Astor) was mistaken on when her divorce from her prior husband could be finalized. Since she would rather go back to work as a concert pianist than hold another wedding at the first opportunity, Peter returns to his ex-girlfriend, aristocrat Maggie (Bette Davis). Sandra hopes to win back Peter all the same by having his baby, but then he and his plane go unaccounted for in a dangerous region. The two women agree that Maggie will meet Sandra's fiscal needs and raise the baby as her own. But you know what usually happens when someone is missing and presumed dead on screen....
I just about spilled the whole plot there, but I kinda had to in order to indicate what makes it remotely distinctive, as well as to hint at what the title means. Contemporary and modern critics agree that there isn't much to be said for complexity or authenticity herein. Heck, the premises are so improbable that I sometimes suspected a comedy in the works.
Once again, acting ability is considered to save the day. Oddly enough, by popular demand, Davis gets the nicer role this time. Astor got an Academy Award for doing what Davis normally would, albeit with less of a southern accent than I expected. The two do have plenty of time to bounce off each other, especially when they're alone between Peter's disappearance and Junior's birth. If you ask me, Peter dodged a bullet. (Not that Sandra's piano scenes aren't pretty enjoyable, as long as you can get used to Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1" as a motif.)
Several elements date the film. First and foremost, you can tell Sandra lives on a former slave plantation, and Hattie McDaniel isn't playing the only faithful servant sticking around. I won't say there's any overt racism, but Hollywood wouldn't go for this depiction anymore. Second, the doctor's orders during pregnancy (which, of course, characters never call by name) allow at least three cigarettes per day, probably more, tho still far fewer than Sandra wants. Third, Peter threatens to beat his wife if she doesn't stop looking like he already did. This is treated as a more or less romantic moment.
I don't consider TGL a bad flick in its own right. I simply intend to think a bit longer before checking out anything else that might be similar.
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