There's no stopping this vision of loveliness, beautiful inside and out. Lydia (Merle Oberon) is a Bostonian socialite with the world at her feet who leaves a trail of broken hearts behind her because of her philanthropist endeavors. But 40 years after her youthful romances ended with her decision to use her money to put an end to human suffering, she is reunited with four of her former lovers as she is honored for her life's work.
Reminding me of a mid 20th Century version of Brooke Astor, Oberon ages from 20 to her early 60's, although her makeup makes her appear older in some scenes than she actually is. What counts, however, are the love stories in her life, and her discovery of a sweet blind boy who lives in squalor with his irascible mother (Sara Allgood). Oberon learned her feistiness from her matriarchal grandmother (the always delightful Edna May Oliver), a salty old money broad who hires one of the lovers (Joseph Cotten) as her doctor after firing her own. "The nerve of him telling me that my liver is perfect", Oliver grumbles. "I should run him out of Boston!" Oberon is of course ofter than her beloved granny, but she's full of fire herself, especially when going up against Allgood who threatens to soil her pretty dress with slop from her dirty house.
"It's the one reward of being a spinster. You decompose but you don't change", the aging Lydia claims after telling her secretary when Cotten arrives for a visit, "Take a good look at him. This is how your sweetheart will look in 40 years." The real star of the film, however, is the lavish black and white art direction and breathtaking photography, even more lush than "Gone With the Wind", which was filmed in color. There are more mirrors, ballrooms, harps, sequins and marbled floors than all of the Busby Berkley and Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals put together. It may be a bit much for some viewers to swallow, but overall, it is only slightly pretentious. Even I, a loather of all things phony, couldn't help but be swept away. Try not to fall head over heals in love with Oliver who gets so many great lines, telling Cotten as her doctor, "I'll have plenty of time to rest when I'm dead", and threatening Oberon with "I'll dance at your wedding, alive or dead!" What a way to live!
Reminding me of a mid 20th Century version of Brooke Astor, Oberon ages from 20 to her early 60's, although her makeup makes her appear older in some scenes than she actually is. What counts, however, are the love stories in her life, and her discovery of a sweet blind boy who lives in squalor with his irascible mother (Sara Allgood). Oberon learned her feistiness from her matriarchal grandmother (the always delightful Edna May Oliver), a salty old money broad who hires one of the lovers (Joseph Cotten) as her doctor after firing her own. "The nerve of him telling me that my liver is perfect", Oliver grumbles. "I should run him out of Boston!" Oberon is of course ofter than her beloved granny, but she's full of fire herself, especially when going up against Allgood who threatens to soil her pretty dress with slop from her dirty house.
"It's the one reward of being a spinster. You decompose but you don't change", the aging Lydia claims after telling her secretary when Cotten arrives for a visit, "Take a good look at him. This is how your sweetheart will look in 40 years." The real star of the film, however, is the lavish black and white art direction and breathtaking photography, even more lush than "Gone With the Wind", which was filmed in color. There are more mirrors, ballrooms, harps, sequins and marbled floors than all of the Busby Berkley and Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals put together. It may be a bit much for some viewers to swallow, but overall, it is only slightly pretentious. Even I, a loather of all things phony, couldn't help but be swept away. Try not to fall head over heals in love with Oliver who gets so many great lines, telling Cotten as her doctor, "I'll have plenty of time to rest when I'm dead", and threatening Oberon with "I'll dance at your wedding, alive or dead!" What a way to live!