A pure delight: this little romantic comedy, signed Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is an exception in the production of the time. It doesn’t fit into any of the usual boxes, and relies solely on the charm of the dialogues. It is true that this love story, at the beginning of the 20th century, between a pretty lonely widow and a captain of a ship who only appears in the form of a ghost, could easily have fallen into silliness. This is not the case: the book which inspired Mankiewicz, signed by a mysterious RA Dick (in reality, it was Josephine Leslie, a totally forgotten author who died in 1979), is quite dry. The filmmaker, as usual, filled it in with somewhat theatrical but so wonderful exchanges!
The actors, Rex Harrison and George Sanders, are visibly delighted and, I might add, never has Gene Tierney been more beautiful. Madonna’s face, gaze that would melt the North Pole, cheekbones that are works of art: the beautiful Gene had a sad life (depression, baby with Down syndrome, amnesia, badly chosen liaisons – Howard Hughes and JFK), but good God , what a gorgeous woman! Just for her, you must have seen “The Adventure of Mrs. Muir”.
Friday, May 5 at 10:35 p.m. on OCS Géants. Fantasy comedy by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1948). With Gene Tierney, George Sanders. 1h37. (Multicast and On Demand).
