I am absolutely smitten with Paulette Goddard. She is incredibly beautiful and such an immensely gifted actress. Yet I have seen so few of her films. Why is that? Here she is a sheer delight as the Duchess of Malmuster. She made me laugh. She tugged at my heart. She mesmerized me with her beauty. And she made me root for her.
I am not such a fan of Ray Milland. In this film his character, Sir Hugh Marcy, is a gold- digging, self-absorbed schemer. In one particular scene, he refuses to leave the Lady's residence, ordering around her servants as if they were his own and forcing his way into her dressing room in some misguided cinematic display of "love." In truth, Marcy is a domineering manipulator. In this entire film he has two scenes in which he is sympathetic. Sandwiched between those two scenes, he executes a plan to expose Lady Malmuster, dragging her back into her "Houndsditch" gutter and sabotaging her engagement to his supposed friend, Lord Carstairs. In reality, this little ploy likely would have been very hurtful to both the Lord and Lady. However, in the unreal realm of Hollywood filmdom, the Lady throws over the fine Lord Carstairs to take back the foul Marcy, and the audience is supposed to believe she lives happily ever after with this lout.
The film kept me guessing whether it would end happily or unhappily for the lovely heroine. I had been hoping for an ending worthy of her. What a terrible disappointment that she should end up with the likes of Lord Marcy. She deserved so much better. This film would have been an 8 or 9 with a better ending.
I am not such a fan of Ray Milland. In this film his character, Sir Hugh Marcy, is a gold- digging, self-absorbed schemer. In one particular scene, he refuses to leave the Lady's residence, ordering around her servants as if they were his own and forcing his way into her dressing room in some misguided cinematic display of "love." In truth, Marcy is a domineering manipulator. In this entire film he has two scenes in which he is sympathetic. Sandwiched between those two scenes, he executes a plan to expose Lady Malmuster, dragging her back into her "Houndsditch" gutter and sabotaging her engagement to his supposed friend, Lord Carstairs. In reality, this little ploy likely would have been very hurtful to both the Lord and Lady. However, in the unreal realm of Hollywood filmdom, the Lady throws over the fine Lord Carstairs to take back the foul Marcy, and the audience is supposed to believe she lives happily ever after with this lout.
The film kept me guessing whether it would end happily or unhappily for the lovely heroine. I had been hoping for an ending worthy of her. What a terrible disappointment that she should end up with the likes of Lord Marcy. She deserved so much better. This film would have been an 8 or 9 with a better ending.