This summer (2021) "Caught" (1949, Max Ophuls) was part of a summer programme on Film Noir of the Dutch film museum. I was interested also because I had seen films from Ophuls German period (1931 - 1933) and second French period (1950 - 1958, the first French period was from 1936 - 1940) but never from his American period (1946 - 1949).
The film starts as a mixture of "School for scoundrels" (1930, Robert Hamer) and "How to marry a millionaire" (1953, Jean Negulesco). Leonora (Barbara Bel Geddes), a poor girl, saves all her hard earned money to go to the "charm school". The main objective of this modelling and etiquette school is to give her students access to a good marriage , preferably with a millionaire.
Of course Leonora succeeds and she marries the millionaire Smith Ohlrig (Robert Ryan), only to find out (as male students do in the school for scoundrels which teaches seducing techniques) that successes earned with chep tricks are shallow. She may have a mink coat, but she is just is a piece of furniture in the house of Ohlrig and a hostess for his businesspartners.
Leonora finds a job as a receptionist for general practitioner Larry Quinada (James Mason in his American debut). She realises that doing a simple job and helping the community gives much more satisfaction then being owned by a millionaire. The film takes on some characteristics of "It's a wonderful life" (1946, Frank Capra) and i began to wonder why this movie was part of film noir program.
The answer to this question comes in the last part of the movie. I will not tell anything about the final showdown, apart from the fact that Ohlrig all of sudden turns from a rather nasty person (selfish, dominant and manipulative) to a full blown psychopath. Not very convincing and even rather silly.
Not so long ago I saw Robert Ryan for the first time as a disillusioned middle aged man in "Odds against tomorrow" (1959, Robert Wise). That performance was much better than his Smith Ohlrig in "Caught". And regarding Max Ophuls? I think I stick to his French period.
The film starts as a mixture of "School for scoundrels" (1930, Robert Hamer) and "How to marry a millionaire" (1953, Jean Negulesco). Leonora (Barbara Bel Geddes), a poor girl, saves all her hard earned money to go to the "charm school". The main objective of this modelling and etiquette school is to give her students access to a good marriage , preferably with a millionaire.
Of course Leonora succeeds and she marries the millionaire Smith Ohlrig (Robert Ryan), only to find out (as male students do in the school for scoundrels which teaches seducing techniques) that successes earned with chep tricks are shallow. She may have a mink coat, but she is just is a piece of furniture in the house of Ohlrig and a hostess for his businesspartners.
Leonora finds a job as a receptionist for general practitioner Larry Quinada (James Mason in his American debut). She realises that doing a simple job and helping the community gives much more satisfaction then being owned by a millionaire. The film takes on some characteristics of "It's a wonderful life" (1946, Frank Capra) and i began to wonder why this movie was part of film noir program.
The answer to this question comes in the last part of the movie. I will not tell anything about the final showdown, apart from the fact that Ohlrig all of sudden turns from a rather nasty person (selfish, dominant and manipulative) to a full blown psychopath. Not very convincing and even rather silly.
Not so long ago I saw Robert Ryan for the first time as a disillusioned middle aged man in "Odds against tomorrow" (1959, Robert Wise). That performance was much better than his Smith Ohlrig in "Caught". And regarding Max Ophuls? I think I stick to his French period.