It is hard to not expect much from 'Anthony Adverse'. Starting with that it is adapted from great and sadly now neglected source material, a big work but a riveting one. And then we have a cast full of immense talent, anything that has Olivia De Havilland and Claude Rains in particular has me sold and like a lot of what Fredric March has done. Mervyn LeRoy did do some fine films, especially 'Gold Diggers of 1933', 'Random Harvest' and 'Waterloo Bridge'.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a great composer for film, one of my favourite film scores being that for 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'. Also wanted to see how Gale Sondergaard fared in her debut and her ground-breaking (in film history) Oscar win, being the first to win for the Best Supporting Actress category. And whether it was as good as its four Oscar wins suggested. So 'Anthony Adverse' had so much to live up to and generally doesn't do too badly in doing so, it doesn't deserve its near-forgotten status. It sadly isn't completely successful though and there was a better film in there somewhere that doesn't fully materialise.
Although the acting is mostly fine, March for me disappointed. He gave far more natural and more emotionally involved and charismatic performances before and since, here he comes over as stiff and going through the motions. He seemed an interesting choice on paper but comes over as taxed on screen. His chemistry with De Havilland, who fares far better, doesn't have much to it and his character just isn't that investable.
The film takes far too long to get going, the first portion is too slight narratively and like sluggish set-up that is a slog to get through. It can get heavy handed and over-complicated in places, it translates fairly faithfully (despite not having the full story) but there are understandable condensations which gives a sprawling feel at times.
On the most part though, 'Anthony Adverse' does well with adapting its large scale source material (not an easy under-taking) and the scale of the film itself is just as mammoth. For all its flaws, the massive effort that went into the film is obvious in pretty much every aspect. It is hugely rewarding visually, certainly looking expensive and showing the studio in its prime using their resources to the absolute utmost. Especially good is the photography, which is quite jaw-dropping in its spectacle. The editing has occasional rough edges but a vast majority of it is crisp, tight and fluid. To me, Korngold's score was the most deserving of the assets that won Oscars, showing to the fullest what made Korngold such a great film composer. It is lushly orchestrated and also rousing, in distinctive Korngold style.
LeRoy's direction is a touch sluggish at first at times, but when the film's action gets into gear and quite rousingly so it is more at ease with the material and very skillful. The story has some bumps, but at its best it excites and charms without being overwrought, the conflict also having suspense. The script is intelligently adapted without being too over-literate. March aside, the performances are of high quality. DeHavilland is radiant and one can see why Adverse would be in love with her.
Edmund Gwenn is typically endearing and Sondergaard does give the creeps memorably, with her and Claude Rains having some of the best line and an almost eerie chemistry. Their coach scene is a scene that is likely to be etched in my mind for a long time. My favourite performance though was from Rains, that he was not even nominated was an oversight in my view, who is gleefully menacing while playing Don Luis to the hilt.
Summarising, uneven but pretty impressive. If the book gets another adaptation, it would be better to make it a mini-series. 7/10
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a great composer for film, one of my favourite film scores being that for 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'. Also wanted to see how Gale Sondergaard fared in her debut and her ground-breaking (in film history) Oscar win, being the first to win for the Best Supporting Actress category. And whether it was as good as its four Oscar wins suggested. So 'Anthony Adverse' had so much to live up to and generally doesn't do too badly in doing so, it doesn't deserve its near-forgotten status. It sadly isn't completely successful though and there was a better film in there somewhere that doesn't fully materialise.
Although the acting is mostly fine, March for me disappointed. He gave far more natural and more emotionally involved and charismatic performances before and since, here he comes over as stiff and going through the motions. He seemed an interesting choice on paper but comes over as taxed on screen. His chemistry with De Havilland, who fares far better, doesn't have much to it and his character just isn't that investable.
The film takes far too long to get going, the first portion is too slight narratively and like sluggish set-up that is a slog to get through. It can get heavy handed and over-complicated in places, it translates fairly faithfully (despite not having the full story) but there are understandable condensations which gives a sprawling feel at times.
On the most part though, 'Anthony Adverse' does well with adapting its large scale source material (not an easy under-taking) and the scale of the film itself is just as mammoth. For all its flaws, the massive effort that went into the film is obvious in pretty much every aspect. It is hugely rewarding visually, certainly looking expensive and showing the studio in its prime using their resources to the absolute utmost. Especially good is the photography, which is quite jaw-dropping in its spectacle. The editing has occasional rough edges but a vast majority of it is crisp, tight and fluid. To me, Korngold's score was the most deserving of the assets that won Oscars, showing to the fullest what made Korngold such a great film composer. It is lushly orchestrated and also rousing, in distinctive Korngold style.
LeRoy's direction is a touch sluggish at first at times, but when the film's action gets into gear and quite rousingly so it is more at ease with the material and very skillful. The story has some bumps, but at its best it excites and charms without being overwrought, the conflict also having suspense. The script is intelligently adapted without being too over-literate. March aside, the performances are of high quality. DeHavilland is radiant and one can see why Adverse would be in love with her.
Edmund Gwenn is typically endearing and Sondergaard does give the creeps memorably, with her and Claude Rains having some of the best line and an almost eerie chemistry. Their coach scene is a scene that is likely to be etched in my mind for a long time. My favourite performance though was from Rains, that he was not even nominated was an oversight in my view, who is gleefully menacing while playing Don Luis to the hilt.
Summarising, uneven but pretty impressive. If the book gets another adaptation, it would be better to make it a mini-series. 7/10