'The Shining Hour' had great potential to be at least a very good film, even a great one. It should have been really. Considering that it had such a talented cast involved in Joan Crawford, Margaret Sullavan, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Young and Fay Bainter, not to mention Hattie McDaniel. Also like Frank Borzage as a director a good deal, usually in lighter fare, but it did seem like 'The Shining Hour' would have material that he could do a lot with.
A great film 'The Shining Hour' sadly was not and it did disappoint, it is the sort of film that has a type of story that has been known to work very well but sadly this falls into most of the potential traps. Irredeemable films are come to think of it a minority handful, and 'The Shining Hour' is a long way from being in that minority handful. The atmosphere, visuals and especially the cast make it worth a one-time watch for curiosity and completest sake (Crawford was my biggest reason), but the numerous big problems (mostly story-related) mar the film badly and makes it a rather average effort.
What saves 'The Shining Hour' in particular is the acting, which is so good and so committed that it is worth more than one star. The best performance comes from Sullavan, her embittered and conflicted character is the most interesting and Sullavan is moving in the part. Very close behind is Crawford, Crawford really throws herself into her role, without resorting to unbalanced over-acting. Young's character sounds bland on paper, but actually his performance is surprisingly complex and nuanced. Douglas doesn't have a lot to do but is his suave and charming self. Bainter is typically more than reliable, making the most of her screen time, same with McDaniel in a type of role she played very well and one of the best at the time at.
Borzage generally keeps things moving at a decent clip, visually his direction is stylish and the atmosphere he creates is often vivid. 'The Shining Hour' has very atmospheric and glossy production values, some thoughtful scripting, moments where it's moving and Franz Waxman's (another interest point, he was one of the best film composers at the time) score is typically lush and haunting.
It is a shame though that the script and especially the story don't fare anywhere near as well. The script mostly was undercooked depth-wise and was very soapy and over-heated, especially in the second half. Some of the film could have had a lot more momentum and done a lot more with the subject matter it had, meaning more tension.
Furthermore, the story felt rather choppily told, with a lot of going on to the next event/idea quite quickly without developing the previous idea enough. It can get very silly and some very senseless character decisions can be seen. A major character change for one character towards the end comes completely out of the blue and doesn't make any sense. We never really get to know the characters, ones that are pretty underdeveloped and it is not always clear why they makes the decisions they make. As for the ending, it is very abrupt, in introduction and round-off, strains credibility and very contrived.
Concluding, disappointingly average but a long way from unwatchable. 5/10
A great film 'The Shining Hour' sadly was not and it did disappoint, it is the sort of film that has a type of story that has been known to work very well but sadly this falls into most of the potential traps. Irredeemable films are come to think of it a minority handful, and 'The Shining Hour' is a long way from being in that minority handful. The atmosphere, visuals and especially the cast make it worth a one-time watch for curiosity and completest sake (Crawford was my biggest reason), but the numerous big problems (mostly story-related) mar the film badly and makes it a rather average effort.
What saves 'The Shining Hour' in particular is the acting, which is so good and so committed that it is worth more than one star. The best performance comes from Sullavan, her embittered and conflicted character is the most interesting and Sullavan is moving in the part. Very close behind is Crawford, Crawford really throws herself into her role, without resorting to unbalanced over-acting. Young's character sounds bland on paper, but actually his performance is surprisingly complex and nuanced. Douglas doesn't have a lot to do but is his suave and charming self. Bainter is typically more than reliable, making the most of her screen time, same with McDaniel in a type of role she played very well and one of the best at the time at.
Borzage generally keeps things moving at a decent clip, visually his direction is stylish and the atmosphere he creates is often vivid. 'The Shining Hour' has very atmospheric and glossy production values, some thoughtful scripting, moments where it's moving and Franz Waxman's (another interest point, he was one of the best film composers at the time) score is typically lush and haunting.
It is a shame though that the script and especially the story don't fare anywhere near as well. The script mostly was undercooked depth-wise and was very soapy and over-heated, especially in the second half. Some of the film could have had a lot more momentum and done a lot more with the subject matter it had, meaning more tension.
Furthermore, the story felt rather choppily told, with a lot of going on to the next event/idea quite quickly without developing the previous idea enough. It can get very silly and some very senseless character decisions can be seen. A major character change for one character towards the end comes completely out of the blue and doesn't make any sense. We never really get to know the characters, ones that are pretty underdeveloped and it is not always clear why they makes the decisions they make. As for the ending, it is very abrupt, in introduction and round-off, strains credibility and very contrived.
Concluding, disappointingly average but a long way from unwatchable. 5/10