Part Merle Oberon and part Maria Montez, former convent girl Phyllis Calvet leads two lives: one a great lady, the other a fiery gypsy. Her husband (Peter Glenville) and daughter (Patricia Roc) find clues to try and find her after she disappears to return to the gypsy colony she had previously disappeared from a year before. This second personality has her involved with the equally fiery Stewart Granger who vows revenge when he comes to think she is stepping out on him.
Handsome to look at but on occasion a pretentious bore, this isn't a total fiasco, but not one of Gainsborough's true classics. The film actually is more interesting when it shows Calvert's emotions erupting as she transforms into her alter. Dulcie Gray steals every scene she is in as a feisty housekeeper, exclaiming at one point that "If they expect something to eat, the only thing they'll get is a piece of my mind". It should be noted that the cause of Calvert's split personality is pretty daring for its day, showing that since the British censors were quite different than the American Hays code, they could get away with things the major studios in Hollywood couldn't. I must also make a mention that in addition to the excellent art direction, the film's sound quality (particularly with its music) is striking as well.
Handsome to look at but on occasion a pretentious bore, this isn't a total fiasco, but not one of Gainsborough's true classics. The film actually is more interesting when it shows Calvert's emotions erupting as she transforms into her alter. Dulcie Gray steals every scene she is in as a feisty housekeeper, exclaiming at one point that "If they expect something to eat, the only thing they'll get is a piece of my mind". It should be noted that the cause of Calvert's split personality is pretty daring for its day, showing that since the British censors were quite different than the American Hays code, they could get away with things the major studios in Hollywood couldn't. I must also make a mention that in addition to the excellent art direction, the film's sound quality (particularly with its music) is striking as well.