Dark Waters (1944)
6/10
Elegant Merle Oberon has a breakdown--and can't seem to get a break--in Dixie.
18 May 2019
Most of the IMDb reviewers found something to like about this odd little flick, and so did I. For sure, it's not at the top of the thriller heap by any stretch, but it has some good moments and decent casting. The plot is standard for '40's Hollywood (translation: it would never happen in real life) but it gives Oberon's glam lady-in-distress an excuse to freak out and hook up with a conveniently sympathetic doctor, adequately portrayed by Tone. The supporting cast is the main recommendation here---particularly Thomas Mitchell, the gifted character actor. He rises above the melodramatic material and makes a convincing mystery man. Reliable Elisha Cook Jr.--who apparently had a long career playing weird loners with one facial expression--is a natural scene-stealer. The other players are there to try and make the plot believable while leads Oberon and Tone do their drama thing. (Credibility would have been improved if the characters---remember, this is set near New Orleans on a plantation---had even a trace of Southern accent. Nobody noticed when they were filming this thing???)
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