Alas, little is left here of Oscar Wilde's famous play, "Lady Windemere's Fan", as so much screen time is now taken up with the added present-day sequences. Nonetheless, George Sanders and Martita Hunt still have all the best lines. On the other hand, Richard Greene is so mediocre an actor, he diverts audience sympathy in the wrong directions. Otto told me it was one of the very few times in his career that he disliked a movie whilst actually shooting it. I don't agree with him. The movie is very stylishly directed and has all the hallmarks of Preminger's middle-career style, particularly in its long takes and fluid camera-work. I particularly liked the long take of Sanders and Crain on the balcony while dancers whirl (slightly out of focus) in the ball-room below. It's certainly not Otto's fault that the movie is over-cluttered with dialogue and that Wilde's wit has been drained off and that many of the players have little charisma and are just plain dull. Miss Crain, for instance, could be described as a dull actress in a dull part. Yes, in all, the movie is rather disappointing, but it's a good example of how NOT to adapt a Victorian comedy of manners. Don't try to make it topical. That just dates it all the more. When Googie Withers revived "The Circle", she actually set it BACK to the 1890s. And that was a very successful adaptation, both with critics and audiences!
Review of The Fan
