ianlouisiana Review of Phaedra

Phaedra (1962)

A rip - off from Euripides."Hyppoliltus" for dummies....................

[1/10 · 24 March 2006]

I saw this bit of superheated Grand Guignol back in 1963.The good burghers of East Ham clearly not finding warmed over Greek Mythology to their taste the only other occupant of the cinema was a myopic usherette using her torch to read her "Picturegoer". Mr Raf Vallone and Miss Melina Mercouri are scenery chewers par excellence. Mr Tony Perkins can certainly hold his own.The result is a magnificent festival of overacting directed at full tilt by Miss Mercouri's hubby who,as is only reasonable,gives her plenty of Big Close Ups. In turn she looks monolithic,demented and then monolithic again. I don't know what she did to Mr Perkins but she certainly terrified me.Well,actually I do know what she did to Mr Perkins,the movie makes it only too clear.Probably grounds for divorce - even in Ancient Greece.Even the formidable M.Dassin is unable to perform his alchemy on this particular Sow's Ear.However diaphanous Miss Mercouri's gowns,how winsome Mr Perkins' facial expressions ,you can't escape from the fact that he is about to have sex with his stepmum.It certainly didn't go down well in East Ham I can tell you.