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Format: VHS
Not Rated
Recording Mode: (unknown) |
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Details
Movie Description
In his last Hollywood film, Preston Sturges crafts a powerfully rendered mix of slapstick, screwball, and melodrama in his darkest comedy ever. Rex Harrison plays Alfred de Carter, the effete and blasé classical conductor returning to New York on the eve of a great performance. Awaiting his return are his beautiful wife Daphne, her coy sister, and her brother-in-law Auguste. Alfred had asked Auguste to look after Daphne during his absence, and when August alerts Alfred that he had Daphne watched by a detective and attempts to deliver the report, the seeds of doubt are planted in an otherwise blissfully romantic marriage The superb Alfred slowly comes undone as he unwillingly lets the idea of Daphne's possible infidelity contaminate his every thought. Sirk elicits uproarious performances from the dry and evocative cast as the film leads to a masterfully complex climax: Alfred fantasizing variously gruesome, magnanimous, and gallant actions he might take, while simultaneously conducting the symphony orchestra to an enraptured audience. When Alfred attempts to act on his fantasy, reality becomes stranger than fiction, and his devious plans are derailed in a series of hysterical physical gags and unsuspected misunderstandings.
Synopsis
Preston Sturges writes and directs this astute comedy in which the renowned haughty acid-tongued symphony conductor Sir Alfred de Carter, played perfectly by Rex Harrison, suspects that his wife, Daphne de Carter (Linda Darnell), is having an affair. After consulting a private detective regarding his wife’s behavior in his absence, Sir Alfred is forced to conduct a concert just as he has become consumed by jealousy. While conducting the concert, he imagines several scenarios for handling the situation. Rossini, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky inflame his imagination as each composer underscores his imaginary scenarios, which range thematically from revenge and reconciliation to renunciation. When given the chance to actually confront the situation, he suddenly finds himself humiliated on each occasion and sent headlong into a slapstick fiasco. This bitter black comedy remains a skillful blending of moods that is genuinely moving. Look for a brilliant bit of business as Rex Harrison struggles with an unruly recording device while preparing the perfect murder. The film contains a classically precise Sturges treatment of character and language.
Film Notes
The film was remade in 1984 with Dudley Moore and Nastassja Kinski.
Industry Reviews
"Impeccable 1948 Hollywood swan song from Preston Sturges..."
Uncut - Kevin Maher (07/01/2004)
"[T]here are some wildly energetic and imaginative sequences which show Sturges at his bravura best."
Sight and Sound - Geoffrey Macnab (08/01/2004)
"[R]ich....[With] lovely bits from select members of Struges' rep company."
Premiere - Glenn Kenny (09/01/2005)
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