There's a passion missing in this second film version of Thornton Wilder's spiritual tale of five people who are suddenly killed when the straw bridge over a canyon in San Luis Rey, Peru collapses without warning. Donald Woods (Charles Darnay in 1935's "A Tale of Two Cities") is the monk who seeks to find out why of all people these five were taken to their deaths. The storyline follows a poor girl (Lynn Bari) who all of a sudden (like Eva Duarte Peron) becomes a famous actress and the object of several men's affections. She certainly isn't a sweet girl; In fact, she's rather selfish as she rises to the top. When she becomes the "kept" woman of Viceroy Louis Calhern (another one of his "villain" roles), she becomes the subject of scandal and one woman's vengeance.
The famous European actress Nazimova plays a matriarchal figure who lost the love of her daughter and takes in a waif (Joan Lorring) as a replacement, unable to come to love her. She wanted her daughter to marry Calhern and is furious when Bari gets that position instead. As the furiosity of her hatred rises, Bari publicly insults her and Calhern orders her to humiliate herself in order to win back Nazimova's favor. The confrontation scene between the two women is fraught with spirituality, but somehow, the acting doesn't seem sincere, and when circumstances bring the women together to cross the Bridge at San Luis Rey, the emotional impact of that tragic moment is sadly missing.
This is one of those films that can be called a "missed opportunity", and it seems, based upon the recent remake of Wilder's novel, that this is an extremely difficult story to transfer to the screen. All the factors are there to make it a touching melodrama, but both versions suffer from too little heart in a story that requires a lot of it. The film isn't helped by the fact that it seems to be more about style than substance, and moves very slowly. The actors for the most part (including Francis Lederer and J. Carroll Naish) seem to be walking through their assignments as if waiting for some divine interference to bring the meaning of their roles to life which sadly never comes.
The famous European actress Nazimova plays a matriarchal figure who lost the love of her daughter and takes in a waif (Joan Lorring) as a replacement, unable to come to love her. She wanted her daughter to marry Calhern and is furious when Bari gets that position instead. As the furiosity of her hatred rises, Bari publicly insults her and Calhern orders her to humiliate herself in order to win back Nazimova's favor. The confrontation scene between the two women is fraught with spirituality, but somehow, the acting doesn't seem sincere, and when circumstances bring the women together to cross the Bridge at San Luis Rey, the emotional impact of that tragic moment is sadly missing.
This is one of those films that can be called a "missed opportunity", and it seems, based upon the recent remake of Wilder's novel, that this is an extremely difficult story to transfer to the screen. All the factors are there to make it a touching melodrama, but both versions suffer from too little heart in a story that requires a lot of it. The film isn't helped by the fact that it seems to be more about style than substance, and moves very slowly. The actors for the most part (including Francis Lederer and J. Carroll Naish) seem to be walking through their assignments as if waiting for some divine interference to bring the meaning of their roles to life which sadly never comes.