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Unfaithfully Yours [1948]


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A high style masterpiece from Preston Sturges and Rex Harrison
Review date: 2007-06-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

Says British conductor Alfred De Carter to his younger and adoring wife, Daphne, at the close of Unfaithfully Yours, "A thousand poets dreamed a thousand years...and you were born, my love." Before we get there, however, we are in the midst of one of the most sophisticated comedies of style ever filmed, and we have witnessed Rex Harrison as De Carter give a titanic performance of plump ego, ridiculous self-righteousness and effortless comedy skill.

De Carter is a famous, wealthy symphony conductor married to Daphne (Linda Darnell) and who employes the handsome Tony (Kurt Krueger) as his personal assistant. Through plausible misunderstandings he learns a private detective kept tabs on Daphne while he was in England. The detective's report is clear...Daphne spent some time in Tony's hotel room late one night wearing a negligee. De Carter first rejects the report, but the worm of jealousy burrows in. That night, while conducting, he imagines three immensely satisfying ways of dealing with the situation. They involve a straight razor applied vigorously to Daphne. Then the noble use of his check book..."This little head was never made to worry, or these little hands to work." And last, a game of Russian roulette, with his preening wit and a cowering Tony. But after the symphony, when he attempts to implement his ideas...well, let's say De Carter finds himself in an extended scene with disasters of his own ego's making. Finally, with just a little humiliation, De Carter learns the truth about that nighttime visit to Tony's room. With the misunderstanding finally cleared up, De Carter embraces his wife and whispers to her those last lines.

Without Preston Sturges' witty screenplay and clever direction, Unfaithfully Yours would be a slight and cold work indeed. Without Rex Harrison's skill and personality, Unfaithfully Yours would be as cynical as a broken promise and as funny as a man who slips on a banana peel, but shatters his jaw on the curb. Together, however, they have created a film of incredibly high style, smart dialogue that just keeps coming which Harrison delivers with precision and malice. Harrison gives a line like "Put on the purple one...with the plumes at the hips," all the demeaning innuendo Sturges could hope for. Even Edgar Kennedy as Sweeney the private eye gets in the act. "No one can handle Handel like you handle Handel," he enthusiastically tells De Carter. "And your Delius...delirious!"

Rex Harrison was not only an incredibly gifted stage and movie actor, he was just about the best there was for high comedy. It's no accident that most critics think he was the outstanding interpreter of Shaw and one of the best with Coward. I think he had the best line delivery in the business. What is surprising, because he can be so clever and amusing, is Harrison's handling of the extended deadpan slapstick toward the end of the movie. De Carter encounters chairs with wicker seats he steps through, tables that fall over holding lamps and phones he tries to catch, gloves that won't fit and high shelves he can barely reach. The classic is his attempt to set up the Simplicitas Home Recording Unit, "So Simple It Operates Itself." By the time De Carter finishes, the elegant drawing room is a shambles. Harrison, if he put his mind to it and on a good day, could possibly out Keaton Keaton.

For fans of classical music, De Carter is conducting works by Rossini, Wagner and Tchaikowsky while he imagines the three ways of dealing with his ego-damaged situation. As Sturges has De Carter say at one point early in the movie, "There's nothing serious about music. It should be enjoyed flat on the back with a sandwich in one hand and a bucket of beer in the other, and as many pretty girls around as possible."

The Criterion Region 1 picture is in great shape. There are a number of extras, including an appreciation of Sturges by Terry Jones and a commentary track by three Sturges scholars.

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Reviews


An arid technical exercise and not nearly as funny as it thinks it is
Review date: 2006-10-10 Rating: 4 out of 10


Despite liking a couple of his movies, I've never been a fan of Preston Sturges, and a second viewing of Unfaithfully Yours did nothing to change that. With rare exceptions like Frasier or Comme une Image, most supposedly `sophisticated' comedies are usually either too clever by half or not half as clever as they think they are: this definitely falls into the latter category. It may be slightly more articulate, but it still comes down to pratfalls and clichés clumsily dispensed (not to mention an incredibly one-dimensional role for Linda Darnell as the wife whose sole reason for existence seems to be to worship her husband). Unfortunately it soon becomes apparent that despite his confidence in the early part of the film, Rex Harrison is entirely wrong for the part: aside from being so incredibly unsympathetic that he simply alienates you for most of the film, he has absolutely no facility for physical comedy, which renders what could and should have been a great comic setpiece where he accidentally trashes his hotel room far more thoroughly than any rock star ever could even dream of rather tedious and protracted. (Alfred Newman's surprisingly crudely over the top slide-whistle and horn 'comic' underscoring all but stones the scene to death, a surprising lapse of judgment from a great composer in a film revolving around classical music.) In the hands of an actor with a modicum of physical comedy timing it could have been gold, but instead it's almost reduced to a technical exercise.

But the same could be said for much of the film. The idea of having the execution and resolution of Harrison's fantasies dictated by the pace of the music he conducts (Rossini for murder, Wagner for mournful forgiveness, Tchaikovsky for suicide) is inspired, but it results in scenes that feel forced, as if at the mercy of a galley slave master's drumbeat. That the scenes themselves are so predictable doesn't help, as goodwill and admiration gradually gives way to boredom in the second half.

There are, however, two saving graces. One is the scene in private detective Edgar Kennedy's office, where Harrison is furious to discover that the man he has come to castigate is a knowledgeable fan with his own tale of loss. The scene is crudely performed and reads better than it plays, but there's heart and humanity there that's lacking in too much of the rest of the film. But the film's genuine standout moment is the orchestra rehearsal, one of the best pieces of filmed musical performance in the movies, not only showing how the music is constructed but showing the life, character and human soul behind it. The loss of those qualities in the rest of the movie is all the more keenly felt in an increasingly arid and overplayed technical exercise.


Even funnier than I remember
Review date: 2006-02-10 Rating: 8 out of 10

I first saw this some 30 years ago when I was only 12. I've always remembered the scene with "Squeak! Squeak! I hate dry white bread". I saw it again just two days ago and laughed so hard my ribs actually ached. It's slow to start, but give it time - when the comedy gets going it's worth it. It's great to see the affection with which lesser scenes were also done in those days, and I'm thinking of the orchestra rehearsal in particular, where you get a great sense of the cast enjoying themselves too. Rex Harrison is undeniably extrovert, but then that's the kind of guy he was, and for this film he's perfect.

A good comedy from an old master
Review date: 2004-06-26 Rating: 8 out of 10

Although not as brilliant or daring as some of Sturges' earlier work, "Unfaithfully Yours" is still quite funny. Rex Harrison is a conducter who suddenly starts to have suspicions about his wife and plans the best way to kill her... only nothing goes according to plan. As for the DVD the picture is quite good throughout (my guess is that has been restored), but the sound does get a bit annoying from time to time. As for the extras there are some interviews, but nothing very interesting - still is the film thatmakes it worth.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Barbara Lawrence
Linda Darnell
Rex Harrison
Rudy Vallee
Kurt Kreuger

Creators:
Rex Harrison (Primary Contributor)
Linda Darnell (Primary Contributor)
Victor Milner (Cinematographer)
Preston Sturges (Producer)
Preston Sturges (Writer)
Robert Fritch (Editor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Second Sight Films Ltd.
Manufacturer: Second Sight Films Ltd.
EAN: 5028836030669
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, PAL,
Release date: 2004-06-21
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Running time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1948-12-10
Language: English (Original Language)

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