NOTES: A re-make of Mazurka (1935), an Austrian film directed by Willi Forst from a screenplay by Hans Rameau, starring Pola Negri, Albrecht Schoenhals, and Ingeborg Theek.
COMMENT: Amazing film. Realizing the brilliance of the 1935 Willi Forst Mazurka, director Joe May tried to reprise it exactly in sets, costumes, photography, camera movement and frame compositions, and editing. He even timed the original performances with a stop-watch with typical German thoroughness and insisted that the players deliver their lines at exactly the same speed - much to the consternation and protests of Basil Rathbone and particularly Kay Francis. The music is also taken from the original film (with English lyrics by Jack Scholl).
The result is a film that is as unlike a Hollywood movie as it was possible to be. Rathbone, despite his objections, is excellent. Even Francis is good, particularly in the earlier part of the film before the melodramatic Madame X plot defeats conviction and any actress's sincerity.
Hunter is wet (fortunately his part is small) but the rest of the cast is fine, particularly Jane Bryan who gives a moving, convincing, compelling performance (despite her protestations). Francis' singing voice of course is dubbed (though she recites a line or two in her own voice). Donald Crisp is a little mechanical, but the other players show little sign of May's stop-watch.
The milieu, the bustling crowds, the sets, the lighting perfectly capture the noirish look of the Forst original. Confession is one of the most fascinating and visually unusual movies to come out of Hollywood - ever! OTHER VIEWS: Although it is based on a true story (and is probably the most accurate of many screen transcriptions), the plot is a familiar one and indeed bears many close similarities to that standard old melodramatic warhorse Madame X (and its many off-shoots like Frisco Jenny). Nonetheless, Confession is engrossing entertainment, though it could stand a little trimming. Ian Hunter is rather wet as the lady's punctilious husband (why she would want to marry such a cold fish is incomprehensible), but fortunately his part is small. Donald Crisp is his usual self as the judge but the other parts are acted with considerable polish and acumen. Kay Francis, expertly made up and costumed to look like Pola Negri in the Austrian film, even sings (passably). Rathbone is perfect as the subtle seducer. Jane Bryan, while she is a rather colorless personality, is ideal for the part.
The direction whether original or copied, is often stunningly inventive and there is an Eisenstein-like rhythm in the film editing that captures the attention. The sets and decor are extremely lavish and the film has been realized on a staggeringly high budget.
COMMENT: Amazing film. Realizing the brilliance of the 1935 Willi Forst Mazurka, director Joe May tried to reprise it exactly in sets, costumes, photography, camera movement and frame compositions, and editing. He even timed the original performances with a stop-watch with typical German thoroughness and insisted that the players deliver their lines at exactly the same speed - much to the consternation and protests of Basil Rathbone and particularly Kay Francis. The music is also taken from the original film (with English lyrics by Jack Scholl).
The result is a film that is as unlike a Hollywood movie as it was possible to be. Rathbone, despite his objections, is excellent. Even Francis is good, particularly in the earlier part of the film before the melodramatic Madame X plot defeats conviction and any actress's sincerity.
Hunter is wet (fortunately his part is small) but the rest of the cast is fine, particularly Jane Bryan who gives a moving, convincing, compelling performance (despite her protestations). Francis' singing voice of course is dubbed (though she recites a line or two in her own voice). Donald Crisp is a little mechanical, but the other players show little sign of May's stop-watch.
The milieu, the bustling crowds, the sets, the lighting perfectly capture the noirish look of the Forst original. Confession is one of the most fascinating and visually unusual movies to come out of Hollywood - ever! OTHER VIEWS: Although it is based on a true story (and is probably the most accurate of many screen transcriptions), the plot is a familiar one and indeed bears many close similarities to that standard old melodramatic warhorse Madame X (and its many off-shoots like Frisco Jenny). Nonetheless, Confession is engrossing entertainment, though it could stand a little trimming. Ian Hunter is rather wet as the lady's punctilious husband (why she would want to marry such a cold fish is incomprehensible), but fortunately his part is small. Donald Crisp is his usual self as the judge but the other parts are acted with considerable polish and acumen. Kay Francis, expertly made up and costumed to look like Pola Negri in the Austrian film, even sings (passably). Rathbone is perfect as the subtle seducer. Jane Bryan, while she is a rather colorless personality, is ideal for the part.
The direction whether original or copied, is often stunningly inventive and there is an Eisenstein-like rhythm in the film editing that captures the attention. The sets and decor are extremely lavish and the film has been realized on a staggeringly high budget.