I am a huge fan of both Barbara Stanwyck and Errol Flynn.
I am surprised to read all of the negative comments about this fine little gem of a movie. Stanwyck delivers a very good performance in her role as the unwanted "widow" of a wealthy family's son. Her suspicions are aroused by the brusque treatment and the sense that something ain't quite right.
Flynn is very effective in his role as the point man in the family's efforts to rush Stanwyck out of their affairs and back from whence she came. He capably portrays a man trying to maintain an aristocratically aloof front, avoid suspicion and still push Stanwyck out the door - all the while becoming increasing attracted to her. As an actor, he has a lot on his plate, and he handles it very well. I love to watch him in these rare non-swashbucklers. He always delivers. He was unfairly deprived of such opportunities then, and his ability is unfairly minimized even today. I wish TCM would come out with an Errol Flynn Non-swashbuckler Box Set!
The rest of the cast is okay, with the exception of Richard Basehart. He is hopelessly miscast as the object of Stanwyck's affections. He was never a leading man, and he doesn't have that kind of appeal or looks. Even though he is not the lead, those qualities are called for in his role. He cannot deliver. I simply couldn't imagine Stanwyck and Basehart being erstwhile lovers. They have only one or two opportunities to generate that kind of chemistry, and nothing sizzles. This is probably the main problem with the film. A flashback or two might have been a good device to establish them as lovers - for example a flashback of their elopement.
One commentator suggested that the plot was flawed because the family should have simply told Stanwyck about her husband upon her arrival. That overlooks the repercussions of such a course of action. Regardless of their motives, the family is, after all, perpetrating a fraud (with very important legal ramifications regarding the estate!), into which they are understandably unwilling to draw an "outsider." Stanwyck is neither wanted nor trusted. To expect the family to just spill the beans to her is naive in the extreme.
Contrary to other commentators, I found the entire film very satisfying and entertaining, including the ending. I thought the film built to a climax that, while not greatly surprising, was revelatory. I certainly suspected the mystery's solution, but I didn't know it until the end. Isn't that the case with most mysteries? Enough clues are provided that the solution doesn't come out of the blue? (Didn't anybody see this very issue addressed in the hilarious spoof, Murder by Death?) What more denouement is called for in this film?
I am surprised to read all of the negative comments about this fine little gem of a movie. Stanwyck delivers a very good performance in her role as the unwanted "widow" of a wealthy family's son. Her suspicions are aroused by the brusque treatment and the sense that something ain't quite right.
Flynn is very effective in his role as the point man in the family's efforts to rush Stanwyck out of their affairs and back from whence she came. He capably portrays a man trying to maintain an aristocratically aloof front, avoid suspicion and still push Stanwyck out the door - all the while becoming increasing attracted to her. As an actor, he has a lot on his plate, and he handles it very well. I love to watch him in these rare non-swashbucklers. He always delivers. He was unfairly deprived of such opportunities then, and his ability is unfairly minimized even today. I wish TCM would come out with an Errol Flynn Non-swashbuckler Box Set!
The rest of the cast is okay, with the exception of Richard Basehart. He is hopelessly miscast as the object of Stanwyck's affections. He was never a leading man, and he doesn't have that kind of appeal or looks. Even though he is not the lead, those qualities are called for in his role. He cannot deliver. I simply couldn't imagine Stanwyck and Basehart being erstwhile lovers. They have only one or two opportunities to generate that kind of chemistry, and nothing sizzles. This is probably the main problem with the film. A flashback or two might have been a good device to establish them as lovers - for example a flashback of their elopement.
One commentator suggested that the plot was flawed because the family should have simply told Stanwyck about her husband upon her arrival. That overlooks the repercussions of such a course of action. Regardless of their motives, the family is, after all, perpetrating a fraud (with very important legal ramifications regarding the estate!), into which they are understandably unwilling to draw an "outsider." Stanwyck is neither wanted nor trusted. To expect the family to just spill the beans to her is naive in the extreme.
Contrary to other commentators, I found the entire film very satisfying and entertaining, including the ending. I thought the film built to a climax that, while not greatly surprising, was revelatory. I certainly suspected the mystery's solution, but I didn't know it until the end. Isn't that the case with most mysteries? Enough clues are provided that the solution doesn't come out of the blue? (Didn't anybody see this very issue addressed in the hilarious spoof, Murder by Death?) What more denouement is called for in this film?