It was a surprise when Young won for Best Actress. Roz Russell was expected to win for Mourning Becomes Electra(windbag of a film). Crawford, Hayward and McGuire were also nominated. My vote would be for Joan but haven’t watched Susan’s film
I agree with you on this one. It's been a while since I've seen it, but it didn't knock me over, that's for sure. You're 100% correct -- there are lots of classics that are better, so it would be unfair to overly praise this one. Not that I want to slam it, because, like you say, it has enjoyable elements, but the conflict isn't strong enough to be extremely engaging. I would say, compared to modern movies, it's a 4 start movie. (I always add two stars to every classic when comparing it to a modern movie. 🙂) On the subject of accents, I'm not a stickler for that--or for realism. I'm not saying you're a big proponent of realism either (you may or may not be, I don't know), but it's a subject that I think about quite a bit. As I may have mentioned before, I'm actually biased against realism because I've seen so many modern movies, that I don't like, that use realism as a crutch to compensate for a weak story. I think of a movie like Tovarich (1937 - a great year for movies), and Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer don't have Russian accents. It doesn't bother me one bit, because the story is so darn good. Talk about a movie that badly needs an official release. Anyway, those are my thoughts. Thanks again for a great classic review. 👍
I'm so glad you agree with me on this one! I was worried I would be bombarded with "you missed the point" comments. It simply did not keep my interest very long. I appreciate a bit of realism in my classics, but I am not one to actively seek it out. Tovarich sounds like a good one for me to watch, as you know, I love Boyer. Thank you for the nice comment!
@@ianpatrickclassicreviews Don’t worry about what other people think about your opinion of this film or any film for that matter. Not every film is for everyone and it says a lot for you that you watched it and gave it a chance. Personally, I love it. So what, if the plot isn’t totally realistic, it’s a movie. If I wanted realism, I’d watch a documentary. This film is pure escapism. The music is outstanding. Loretta Young is beautiful, virtuous, principled and brave. Joseph Cotten is funny and valiant and eventually re-discovers his ethics. Ethel Barrymore is witty, endearing and wise and Charles Bickford is absolutely fearless. Rhys Williams is a disgusting and repulsive snake and Art Baker is a deceitful fascist. The good people win and the bad people lose. For me, it’s perfect.
It was a surprise when Young won for Best Actress. Roz Russell was expected to win for Mourning Becomes Electra(windbag of a film). Crawford, Hayward and McGuire were also nominated. My vote would be for Joan but haven’t watched Susan’s film
I agree with you on this one. It's been a while since I've seen it, but it didn't knock me over, that's for sure. You're 100% correct -- there are lots of classics that are better, so it would be unfair to overly praise this one. Not that I want to slam it, because, like you say, it has enjoyable elements, but the conflict isn't strong enough to be extremely engaging. I would say, compared to modern movies, it's a 4 start movie. (I always add two stars to every classic when comparing it to a modern movie. 🙂)
On the subject of accents, I'm not a stickler for that--or for realism. I'm not saying you're a big proponent of realism either (you may or may not be, I don't know), but it's a subject that I think about quite a bit. As I may have mentioned before, I'm actually biased against realism because I've seen so many modern movies, that I don't like, that use realism as a crutch to compensate for a weak story. I think of a movie like Tovarich (1937 - a great year for movies), and Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer don't have Russian accents. It doesn't bother me one bit, because the story is so darn good. Talk about a movie that badly needs an official release.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. Thanks again for a great classic review. 👍
I'm so glad you agree with me on this one! I was worried I would be bombarded with "you missed the point" comments. It simply did not keep my interest very long.
I appreciate a bit of realism in my classics, but I am not one to actively seek it out. Tovarich sounds like a good one for me to watch, as you know, I love Boyer.
Thank you for the nice comment!
@@ianpatrickclassicreviews Don’t worry about what other people think about your opinion of this film or any film for that matter. Not every film is for everyone and it says a lot for you that you watched it and gave it a chance. Personally, I love it. So what, if the plot isn’t totally realistic, it’s a movie. If I wanted realism, I’d watch a documentary. This film is pure escapism. The music is outstanding. Loretta Young is beautiful, virtuous, principled and brave. Joseph Cotten is funny and valiant and eventually re-discovers his ethics. Ethel Barrymore is witty, endearing and wise and Charles Bickford is absolutely fearless. Rhys Williams is a disgusting and repulsive snake and Art Baker is a deceitful fascist. The good people win and the bad people lose. For me, it’s perfect.