This would have been a far better film if the motivation and characterizations in some cases were not so melodramatic. Basil Rathbone's character seems straight of strained melodrama or a Charles Dickens novel or maybe Jane Eyre where a character like that would have been more credible.
On the other hand, dissuaded by the reference to the film as trash in some reviews I ignored this film for quite a while. But apart from its flawed dramaturgy in some ways (its strained melodrama and its equally flawed characterizations) it's superbly plotted with more twists than one would expect for the price of a movie. It really picks up in the second half.
Certainly the scene where Robert Taylor, with a single punch, knocks out Basil Rathbone in a superb "he had it coming" moment, is in itself worth a view of the film.
But any film with Loretta Young is worth seeing. For some reason, Young, as it were, has fallen in between the cracks. Maybe because she doesn't fit easily into a single category, such as Katherine Hepburn, Liz Taylor, Monroe, Ava Gardner, Jane Powell, etc. Her roles covered a wide range from the bad girl in an early Cary Grant film, where she basically played a prostitute (though the role was disguised in the film) to the later more dignified roles and especially in her transition as the First Lady of Television in her TV series.
As for Taylor, I can't say much for him since I've never been a fan and to his day he seems nondescript as an actor, usually best featured as a "placeholder" of an escort or inamorato to a beautiful woman (as in Camille with Garbo). But this is only my personal view of Taylor.
Based on the superbly crafted twists and turns of the final third of the film, I would have given this film a higher rating. But otherwise even with a 7 I strongly recommend ignoring its melodramatic dramaturgical elements in the first half until the better part comes.
I suppose I have to say this review contains "spoilers" based on the punch that Rathbone's character receives.
On the other hand, dissuaded by the reference to the film as trash in some reviews I ignored this film for quite a while. But apart from its flawed dramaturgy in some ways (its strained melodrama and its equally flawed characterizations) it's superbly plotted with more twists than one would expect for the price of a movie. It really picks up in the second half.
Certainly the scene where Robert Taylor, with a single punch, knocks out Basil Rathbone in a superb "he had it coming" moment, is in itself worth a view of the film.
But any film with Loretta Young is worth seeing. For some reason, Young, as it were, has fallen in between the cracks. Maybe because she doesn't fit easily into a single category, such as Katherine Hepburn, Liz Taylor, Monroe, Ava Gardner, Jane Powell, etc. Her roles covered a wide range from the bad girl in an early Cary Grant film, where she basically played a prostitute (though the role was disguised in the film) to the later more dignified roles and especially in her transition as the First Lady of Television in her TV series.
As for Taylor, I can't say much for him since I've never been a fan and to his day he seems nondescript as an actor, usually best featured as a "placeholder" of an escort or inamorato to a beautiful woman (as in Camille with Garbo). But this is only my personal view of Taylor.
Based on the superbly crafted twists and turns of the final third of the film, I would have given this film a higher rating. But otherwise even with a 7 I strongly recommend ignoring its melodramatic dramaturgical elements in the first half until the better part comes.
I suppose I have to say this review contains "spoilers" based on the punch that Rathbone's character receives.