Yup, that's what we're supposed to believe in this apparent screen test for Charles Boyer, who's auditioning for the part of an even more evil husband in "Gaslight" some three years later.
This movie starts out promisingly, but quickly bogs down in dumb plot twists. Who cares about those expats in a hotel room, and the silly man who cuts their hair? Or the schoolboys who torment a local mechanic? I tired of Paulette Goddard's forever throwing herself at Boyer's icy Georges. However, I will say that Olivia de Havilland excels as a lovely schoolteacher. But is she, or anybody, charming enough to change a psychopath's spots?
This movie's immigration theme seems particularly quaint today. It takes us to a time of ironclad controls on crossing the US southern border. Imagine that!
This movie starts out promisingly, but quickly bogs down in dumb plot twists. Who cares about those expats in a hotel room, and the silly man who cuts their hair? Or the schoolboys who torment a local mechanic? I tired of Paulette Goddard's forever throwing herself at Boyer's icy Georges. However, I will say that Olivia de Havilland excels as a lovely schoolteacher. But is she, or anybody, charming enough to change a psychopath's spots?
This movie's immigration theme seems particularly quaint today. It takes us to a time of ironclad controls on crossing the US southern border. Imagine that!