I hate to be critical of something into which a great many people invested a lot of time, money and effort but it has to be said that Madness of the Heart is far from being a classic.
Neither a superb cast, a substantial budget, exotic settings nor the presence of the sublimely gorgeous and extremely talented Margaret Lockwood in the leading role can save this film from its dire script.
The premise is promising enough; a lovely young Englishwoman (Lockwood) falls in love with an aristocratic Frenchman (played by Paul Dupuis) but is promptly struck blind. Despite this tragedy, the couple marry and move to Monsieur's stately pile in Provence where their happiness is sorely tested by his family's negative attitude toward disability and the murderous machinations of his psychopathic former intended (a scary turn from Kathleen Byron of Black Narcissus fame).
The camera work is great and the sets and the set pieces are fantastic (especially the evening ball) but the dialogue is risible in places and the film's ending frankly ludicrous! The actors do their best - Lockwood, in particular, shows her mettle and is very convincing as a blind woman - but it is clearly an uphill struggle. The writer apparently collaborated with Hitchcock on some of his early films but you would never have guessed!
I am, to put it mildly, a huge fan of Margaret Lockwood but I have to admit that this is not one of her better films. If you like her and you like vintage thrillers, then The Lady Vanishes, Night Train to Munich, Girl in the News or Cast a Dark Shadow (several of which are inexplicably unavailable in PAL format on either DVD or video) are far, far better; this one is for die-hard fans only.
Neither a superb cast, a substantial budget, exotic settings nor the presence of the sublimely gorgeous and extremely talented Margaret Lockwood in the leading role can save this film from its dire script.
The premise is promising enough; a lovely young Englishwoman (Lockwood) falls in love with an aristocratic Frenchman (played by Paul Dupuis) but is promptly struck blind. Despite this tragedy, the couple marry and move to Monsieur's stately pile in Provence where their happiness is sorely tested by his family's negative attitude toward disability and the murderous machinations of his psychopathic former intended (a scary turn from Kathleen Byron of Black Narcissus fame).
The camera work is great and the sets and the set pieces are fantastic (especially the evening ball) but the dialogue is risible in places and the film's ending frankly ludicrous! The actors do their best - Lockwood, in particular, shows her mettle and is very convincing as a blind woman - but it is clearly an uphill struggle. The writer apparently collaborated with Hitchcock on some of his early films but you would never have guessed!
I am, to put it mildly, a huge fan of Margaret Lockwood but I have to admit that this is not one of her better films. If you like her and you like vintage thrillers, then The Lady Vanishes, Night Train to Munich, Girl in the News or Cast a Dark Shadow (several of which are inexplicably unavailable in PAL format on either DVD or video) are far, far better; this one is for die-hard fans only.