Feb. 17, 2011
Starring Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, John Payne
Directed by Edmund Goulding
Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham
Plot: “A adventuresome young man goes off to find himself and loses his socialite fiancĂ©e in the process. But when he returns 10 years later, she will stop at nothing to get him back, even though she is already married.” (from IMDb)
At nearly two and a half hours, this film takes its sweet time getting anywhere. But if you can plod through some of the more tedious parts, the plot starts to come to a head in the last hour. Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney are a well-matched and stunning pair. The acting was adequate (for most) but the cinematography and many different settings of the film are what stood out to me. ***SPOILERS*** I thought the whole business of Power’s character’s enlightenment was a little heavy-handing and corny. Those also happened to be some of the few scenes were I didn’t think the ‘atmosphere’ (of India) was very convincing. This is an okay film if you have a few hours to waste. It really wasn’t my favorite, but most of the film kept my interest. :)