The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.8/10   

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Escritores:

Thomas Job (play)
Keith Winter (adaptation)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

17 agosto 1945 (USA)

Género:

Drama | Cine Negro

Plot:

Bachelor Harry Quincey, head designer in a small-town cloth factory, lives with his selfish sisters...

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Small Town | Uncle | Beautiful Woman | Based On Play

Comentarios de los usuarios:

A good film driven by the character development and strong performances from Saunders and Fitzgerald

Reparto

George Sanders	...	Harry Melville Quincey
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Lettie Quincey
Ella Raines	...	Deborah Brown
Sara Allgood	...	Nona
Moyna MacGill	...	Hester Quincy (as Moyna Macgill)
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Dr. Adams
Harry von Zell	...	Ben (as Harry VonZell)
Judy Clark	...	Helen
Coulter Irwin	...	Biff Wagner (as Coulter F. Irwin)
Craig Reynolds	...	John Warren

También conocida como:

Guilty of Murder? (USA) (reissue title)
Uncle Harry (UK)
Pesadilla (Spain) [es]

Duración:

80 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Negro y Blanco

Relación de Aspecto:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Clasificación:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Locaciones de Filmación:

New Hampshire, USA

Compañía:

Universal Pictures

Trivialidades:

The film was previewed with five different endings and the existing one (a complete departure from the play) was selected for reasons of popular response and censorship, prompting the resignation of producer Joan Harrison from Universal Pictures.

A good film driven by the character development and strong performances from Saunders and Fitzgerald

Harry Quincey is a bachelor who lives with his two sisters and is head designer in a small town cloth factory. When a New York colleague comes into town to design new fashions early in the production process Harry falls for her and soon it is evident that his relationship with Deborah is going somewhere in the longer term. This is seen as a threat by Harry's sisters, specifically the glamorous hypochondriac Lettie who selfishly guards her brother as her own and has no intention on ever losing him to another woman.

The title of this film and the early tone suggests an enjoyable if standard romantic comedy with some light wit, however it becomes much more dramatic and interesting with some good character development and themes. Harry's romance is indeed quite light and enjoyable but it gives way (well, produces) tension between the women in his life – specifically Deborah and Lettie, who is a wonderfully acerbic and possessive character that leads the film into darker territory towards the end. The film is driven by the characters and I was taken by Harry while enthralled by his relationship with Lettie. The ending is a bit of a cop out as it was selected to be the least controversial and meet the requirements of the moral code of the time; the fantasy ending suggests a dark conclusion but really it is a nonsensical cop out that didn't do the film justice.

With this the case it was important that the cast be able to produce the goods or else it may not have worked, fortunately the cast are roundly good. Saunders is best known to me as the Falcon and the Saint, perhaps roles that aren't the most demanding for an actor, but here he shows good touch and a subtly that works well with his character. He is more than matched by a wonderful Fitzgerald, who is convincing and complex with a performance that could so easily have hammy and OTT but one that she gets spot on. Support is good from Raines, MacGill and others but really the film belongs to the lead two and it is there strong performances that drives the film.

Overall this is a fine piece of drama that moves from a standard romance into a much more interesting character piece that draws out great performances from Saunders and Fitzgerald. The direction is good and the story drew me in well to produce a film that is well worth seeing if you can track it down.