In an eerie foreshadowing of her own fate Susan Hayward plays a wealthy socialite with a fatal brain tumor in this reworking of Dark Victory.
The original is far superior but this has a lush production and some breath taking scenery of the Cornish coast, so beautiful you'll want to hop a plane and move there by the end of the picture, to recommend it.
Susie's customary strong performance is also a highlight but she doesn't get as deeply under the skin of the character of Laura Pember as Bette Davis did with Judith Traherne in the original.
Director Petrie doesn't have the artistic sensibilities of the original's Edmund Goulding so a certain tortured romantic feeling that was an underlying factor of the first film is missing from this.
Still for fans of Miss Hayward or plush dramas of the 50's-60's era this is an enjoyable way to pass a few hours.
In another ironic twist of fate Susan's next film was the tawdry but deeply satisfying Where Love Has Gone co-starring Bette Davis who was not pleased that Hayward had remade her personal favorite of her films. Bette stated before production had even begun "Some pictures SHOULDN'T be remade!!" surely stabbing the air with her omnipresent cigarette for emphasis. The two were cordial at the commencement of filming but soon set to squabbling over plot points and ended up more or less mortal enemies by the time the film was completed.
The original is far superior but this has a lush production and some breath taking scenery of the Cornish coast, so beautiful you'll want to hop a plane and move there by the end of the picture, to recommend it.
Susie's customary strong performance is also a highlight but she doesn't get as deeply under the skin of the character of Laura Pember as Bette Davis did with Judith Traherne in the original.
Director Petrie doesn't have the artistic sensibilities of the original's Edmund Goulding so a certain tortured romantic feeling that was an underlying factor of the first film is missing from this.
Still for fans of Miss Hayward or plush dramas of the 50's-60's era this is an enjoyable way to pass a few hours.
In another ironic twist of fate Susan's next film was the tawdry but deeply satisfying Where Love Has Gone co-starring Bette Davis who was not pleased that Hayward had remade her personal favorite of her films. Bette stated before production had even begun "Some pictures SHOULDN'T be remade!!" surely stabbing the air with her omnipresent cigarette for emphasis. The two were cordial at the commencement of filming but soon set to squabbling over plot points and ended up more or less mortal enemies by the time the film was completed.