Well well, I certainly found this to be a very mixed bag, I simply adore Preston Sturges, the satirical wit in many of his classic standards is still thrilling new fans as each year passes by. This one was one I had to hunt down to add to my collection purely because of its director, and what trusted review sources I looked at led me to expect an undervalued masterpiece. Sadly the film only hints at greatness and I wasn't in the least bit surprised to find that the film had been cut by 20 minutes such was the uneven feel I got from it.
The film centres on a comic slant of misconception, mistrust, and one mans zany decent into jealous madness. Believing his beautiful wife is having an affair, top conductor Sir Alfred De Carter {an ebullient Rex Harrison} dreams three scenarios that will give him peace, all very different, and all played out to the accompaniment of classical music, Rossini's-Semiramide, Wagner's-Tannhauser, and Tchaikovsky's-Francesca de Rimini. These sequences lift the film out of the stupor that besets the piece for most of the first half, and this sets us up nicely for the finale as we see which route Carter has chosen and of course the mirthful results that ensues.
Back on release the film didn't catch on, and we can only wonder what the film would have been like with the added scenes still in place, I like to think that Sturges really had crafted the masterpiece that some top line critics today believe the film actually is. The film was also blighted by a sad scandal as Rex Harrison's girlfriend Carole Landis committed suicide and naturally the films distributor {Fox} felt the films subject matter was just too close to the bone to support wholesale, and the subsequent lack of support practically killed the film on release to the point that Sturges never made another American film again . It's an entertaining film, the music working with the mindset of the protagonist works a treat, and the comedy stands up well to tickle the ribs, but it will always be a case of so near, yet so far, but that of course is my own humble opinion.
7/10
The film centres on a comic slant of misconception, mistrust, and one mans zany decent into jealous madness. Believing his beautiful wife is having an affair, top conductor Sir Alfred De Carter {an ebullient Rex Harrison} dreams three scenarios that will give him peace, all very different, and all played out to the accompaniment of classical music, Rossini's-Semiramide, Wagner's-Tannhauser, and Tchaikovsky's-Francesca de Rimini. These sequences lift the film out of the stupor that besets the piece for most of the first half, and this sets us up nicely for the finale as we see which route Carter has chosen and of course the mirthful results that ensues.
Back on release the film didn't catch on, and we can only wonder what the film would have been like with the added scenes still in place, I like to think that Sturges really had crafted the masterpiece that some top line critics today believe the film actually is. The film was also blighted by a sad scandal as Rex Harrison's girlfriend Carole Landis committed suicide and naturally the films distributor {Fox} felt the films subject matter was just too close to the bone to support wholesale, and the subsequent lack of support practically killed the film on release to the point that Sturges never made another American film again . It's an entertaining film, the music working with the mindset of the protagonist works a treat, and the comedy stands up well to tickle the ribs, but it will always be a case of so near, yet so far, but that of course is my own humble opinion.
7/10