Now, Voyager (1942)

Intro.

Now, Voyager is one of those movies I've heard referenced but never had a chance to see.  It seems to come up any time Bette Davis is mentioned and also happens to pop up in questions on the game Scene It: Turner Classic Movies Edition.  It was on a few nights ago and I recorded it on a whim.  Last night I had some time to myself and took a break from my November writing to watch.  What a fascinating film!

Overview

Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is the spinster aunt in the very wealthy, very prominent Vale family of Boston.  She lives with her aging mother, Mrs. Vale (Gladys Cooper), who had two sons and then much later in life had Charlotte.  As the film opens, nervous and emotionally battered Charlotte is met at home by her sister in law, Lisa (Ilka Chase), and a famous psychiatrist, Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains).  After meeting her controlling mother, they meet agitated Charlotte, and Dr. Jaquith talks to her up in her room for some privacy.  Charlotte is in the middle of a nervous breakdown and goes with Dr. Jaquith to his country sanitorium for some rest and therapy.  She makes remarkable progress, even losing some weight and realizing that she doesn't need glasses (she was just hiding behind them).  She gains enough confidence to go out and try something, so Dr. Jaquith books her on a cruise to South America.  On the first shore trip, Charlotte shares a cab with the only other single passenger, dashing Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid).  As they spend the afternoon together, Charlotte discovers that Jerry is married and has two little girls.  Although initially disappointed, Charlotte and Jerry wind up forming a close friendship which, with the help of a car accident that forces them to spend the night in a cabin together, blossoms into romance.  But Jerry can't get a divorce from his controlling (and also ailing) wife and Charlotte must go back home to face her mother again.  Charlotte asserts her independence from her mother at last, but their final fight ends with her mother dying from a heart attack.  Racked with guilt, Charlotte goes back to the sanitarium, where she befriends a twelve-year old girl (Tina) who is exactly how Charlotte was at that age (right down to the mother problems).  Charlotte becomes her caregiver and invites her to live with Charlotte in Boston, in a home where she will be wanted and respected.  The fact that the girl is Jerry's youngest daughter is what makes this seemingly happy ending very dark and very complicated.

Highlights

There is good reason why this film is considered Bette Davis' tour de force.  She is incredible as Charlotte, both strong and vulnerable, coming into her own while still holding onto that troubled self-consciousness.  Her transformation and wonderful presence really make this film.  What's so remarkable is her subtlety as she plays this role.  She makes Charlotte more than the conventional "basket-case" heiress who makes a breakthrough.  We can see that she is still vulnerable under that sarcasm while on the tour of South America and while taking care of Tina, she is also taking care of herself.

Also stand-outs in their performances are Paul Henreid and Claude Rains.  Rains was reportedly not going to do the picture initially, but after his part was built up, he took it and did a marevellous job.  I wasn't sure at first how believable he'd be as a psychiatrist (maybe I have him stuck in my head as Capt. Renault), but he does a great job and is really fun to watch.  Paul Henreid is equally good as Jerry, making his character both lovable and easy to hate.  He makes Jerry a round, dynamic character instead of playing him off as the trapped husband.  I especially enjoyed Tina, played by Janis Wilson, who can be a real scene stealer.

I have a few random points I'd like to bring up here, so forgive the disjointedness here.  First is that the ending caught me by surprise.  Not to give anything away, it was much more realistic and sad than I had expected.  You won't find all that Hollywood feel-good stuff here and don't expect wedding bells.  But it is still a triumph - an assertion of Charlotte coming into her own and being happy with her life.  Also pleasantly surprising was seeing Mary Wickes make an appearance as Mrs. Vale's nurse.  Can't place her?  She's been in everything from Higher and Higher to White Christmas to the more recent Sister Act.  She adds a great touch of comedy to the picture and I always love seeing her.  Finally, one bit of Hollywood trivia - Now, Voyager ran late in filming, and Paul Henreid literally finished his shooting on the film one night and bright and early the next day was on the set for that other 1942 gem, Casablanca.   

Now, Voyager is a film about finding yourself and accepting happiness, even if it does not come in the dream you were expecting.  It is deep, poignant and timeless in its portrayals of family duties and personal responsibilities.  The title refers to a line from Whitman, which Dr. Jaquith gives to Charlotte as she embarks for South America.  It goes: "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, /
Now, voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."  What a fitting line for Charlotte's journey towards her own self-discovery.

Review

I really enjoyed this movie, even though I wasn't so sure I would at first.  The rich characters and fine acting create a story worth seeing that transcends 1942.  I could go on about Now, Voyager, but the last line of the film really captures the essence of the whole film.  Charlotte looks out the window and says, "Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon; we have the stars."

The Locket (1946)

Intro.

It had been a long while since I had been able to enjoy a nice relaxing evening with take out food and a bunch of great films.  I had plenty on my DVR, so I scrolled through to find one suited for my mood.  I stumbled upon this one, The Locket.  I'm not normally one for melodramas, but as this one starred Laraine Day and Robert Mitchum and added in a psychological twist, I thought it might be good.  As far as story-telling went, it was well worth watching. 

Overview
Basically, this is a story within a story within a story within a story.  The depths of the film are peeled away like onion skins.  First we meet John Willis (Gene Raymond) and his beautiful fiancee Nancy (Laraine Day) at their engagement party.  They seem to be the perfect, happy couple.  But a stranger arrives and asks to see John in private.  The stranger turns out to be Nancy's ex-husband, Dr. Harry Blair (Brian Aherne).  Blair warns John he's making a huge mistake - that Nancy has already ruined the lives of three men.  His story launches a flashback to when he had met Nancy and their lives together.  However, this flashback gets interrupted when Blair explains that he too had been warned about Nancy - about how she alone was responsible for a man being wrongly executed in Sing-Sing.  The man to warn him was named Norman Clyde (Robert Mitchum).  Norman's story launches another flashback about how he had met Nancy.  Apparently Nancy and Norman had been at an art dealer's party (Norman was a painter) and Nancy had stolen a diamond bracelet left by some guest in the bathroom.  She told Norman it was all just her gut reaction - she just wanted it and took it.  Her teary-eyed explanation takes us to the last flashback, which takes place when she was about ten years old and living with her mother, a housekeeper to an extremely rich family.  Nancy was falsely accused of stealing the family's daughter's diamond locket and severely punished for it.  It's more of an emotional beating that leaves grown up Nancy still shaking in Robert's arms as she tells him about it.  He convinces her to mail back the bracelet anonymously.  We think all is resolved until they go to another party and the host is murdered, his prize diamond stolen.  Did Nancy do it?  We don't really know.  But she lies to the police and lets the butler take the fall for the crime (that's 2 of the 3 men whose lives she ruined, if you're keeping score).  Norman desperately tries to save the butler, hence his visit to Blair, but it doesn't do any good.  I won't go on from there except to say that Blair also comes to learn the disturbing truth about Nancy while living with her in England.  Even as a psychiatrist, he cannot help her, and their subsequent divorce leads to her returning and finding John.  It all ends back where it started - with the wedding preparations for Nancy and John.  But Nancy gets the shock of her life when she meets with her mother-in-law, and the film comes to a close.  (No spoilers here!)     

Highlights

I really enjoyed all of the layers to this film.  It was a lot of fun to keep peeling back layer after layer, just as you would to get at the heart of any person's personality.  It had a film noir quality to it as it not only had the multiple flashbacks, but also the overall dark tone.  I realize now as I write this, that there is very little evidence that Nancy killed her host and stole his diamond - the entire case is really built on suspicion and the way Norman reacts to her story.  That part is really well done and intriguing.  Laraine Day is also wickedly delightful as this angel-faced, allegedly-homicidal kleptomaniac.  All the men who surround her are helpless, and only one - Blair - manages to escape in one piece.

Apart from its noir-ish elements, the film really is a melodrama and its attempts at the "psychological drama" aren't done well.  I feel bad to admit this, but the secret at the heart of Nancy's problems didn't really seem all that devastating to me.  The only justification I could see was that perhaps she already had some psychological problems and the incident with the locket was just the trigger she needed.  I almost wish we had some more time with her as she grew up - did the incident that cost her mother's job ruin their family?  Did her mother find work again?  Did she blame Nancy constantly for her unhappiness?  It's a bit of a jump and leaves a lot of questions unanswered.  I don't want to sound cold - anyone would've been severely shaken by that business with the locket, but very few people I know would have turned to theft and purgery and possibly murder.  The ending seemed much too easy, too simple, though the irony of it has a bit of a redeeming quality.  I won't dwell on it more, just in case you decide to watch!  

Review

If you can get past the flaws with motive and psychology, you will find some things to appreciate in The Locket.  For the most part, the story-telling is wonderful.  I really enjoyed all the depths and twists each story took as we went further back into Nancy's past.  The film itself even feels like a case study - as if we are in Dr. Blair's shoes evaluating a patient.  So overall, not one of the best films I've reviewed, but still enjoyable and a good example of plot techniques.