This melodramatic offering from the Gainsborough folks leads me to muse on how British 1940s, steamy, soap opera differed from the Hollywood kind. On the up side you have more literate, indeed, at times, even witty dialogue, plus the sexual envelope gets pushed a bit more forcefully than it would have been in Hays/Breen dominated Tinseltown, especially during World War Two when the moral superiority of the American home front was sacrosanct. So congrats to the English for allowing us to sense the brutality of James Mason's idea of a honeymoon night as well as using the word "mistress" which was banned from U. S. films until sometime in the late 50s.
On the down side the acting is, if anything, even more florid than it would have been on the left side of the pond. Mason called his performance in this film "atrocious" and I would have to agree. Margaret Lockwood and Phyllis Calvert are only slightly less hammy. The only member of the cast to soft peddle it, and thus turn in the best work, is Stewart Granger. I also could have done without the racism which is, if anything, even more visceral than anything MGM was concocting at the time, what with multiple actors in blackface and casual use of the N word along with the very offensive term, "Sambo".
Bottom line: Rank racism outweighs relative sexual freedom. In other words, I'll take "Kings Row" anytime. Give this one a C.
On the down side the acting is, if anything, even more florid than it would have been on the left side of the pond. Mason called his performance in this film "atrocious" and I would have to agree. Margaret Lockwood and Phyllis Calvert are only slightly less hammy. The only member of the cast to soft peddle it, and thus turn in the best work, is Stewart Granger. I also could have done without the racism which is, if anything, even more visceral than anything MGM was concocting at the time, what with multiple actors in blackface and casual use of the N word along with the very offensive term, "Sambo".
Bottom line: Rank racism outweighs relative sexual freedom. In other words, I'll take "Kings Row" anytime. Give this one a C.