There's a reason that some films, even if they do have great stars in them, are best left to linger in the shadows. They do not stand up to the light of the present day. I had never seen this film and had harboured over the decades my belief that it had something to do with a large trunk, as in suitcase, that contained within it secrets...
By God, it's jaw droppingly dreadful. Whose idea was it to cast Flora Robson in blackface? Yes, I know, it was a less 'woke' Hollywood in 1943 but even so. Could they not have enlisted the talents of a black actress, even if the role itself was essentially demeaning..why make it worse? The fact that Robson was actually nominated for an Oscar for this is just amazing to me. Then there's the dehumanization of the dwarf actor involved and his various humiliations. I understand that all this was then and should be viewed as such but in 2021 it's really too much to ask. Added to which the furious over acting of Bergman is like fingernails on a blackboard. Will you, for the love of God, just ease up on it? But no. It's relentless. And does it go on or does it go on? The film seems positively the length of an undersea cable, it's agonisingly endless, not to mention encrusted with barnacles. Gary Cooper is Gary Cooper is Gary Cooper, this film wastes his particularly laconic talents and his character is of little real interest or substance. Supporting roles by Florence Bates and the redoubtable Ethel Griffies provide interest and there is, I suppose, pleasure to be derived from some lovely photography. There is A grade Hollywood production values sewn into it, there's no doubt about it. But, no. This is one of those lush pieces of nonsense that ought to be put away, quietly, but firmly, out of circulation. Rated NFPDA. (Not For Present Day Audiences).
By God, it's jaw droppingly dreadful. Whose idea was it to cast Flora Robson in blackface? Yes, I know, it was a less 'woke' Hollywood in 1943 but even so. Could they not have enlisted the talents of a black actress, even if the role itself was essentially demeaning..why make it worse? The fact that Robson was actually nominated for an Oscar for this is just amazing to me. Then there's the dehumanization of the dwarf actor involved and his various humiliations. I understand that all this was then and should be viewed as such but in 2021 it's really too much to ask. Added to which the furious over acting of Bergman is like fingernails on a blackboard. Will you, for the love of God, just ease up on it? But no. It's relentless. And does it go on or does it go on? The film seems positively the length of an undersea cable, it's agonisingly endless, not to mention encrusted with barnacles. Gary Cooper is Gary Cooper is Gary Cooper, this film wastes his particularly laconic talents and his character is of little real interest or substance. Supporting roles by Florence Bates and the redoubtable Ethel Griffies provide interest and there is, I suppose, pleasure to be derived from some lovely photography. There is A grade Hollywood production values sewn into it, there's no doubt about it. But, no. This is one of those lush pieces of nonsense that ought to be put away, quietly, but firmly, out of circulation. Rated NFPDA. (Not For Present Day Audiences).