Thursday, 1 May 2025

My Cousin Rachel (1952 Henry Koster)

One great impressionistic fever scene in one take as Richard Burton lies there, hearing various voices from different moments, stands up and is being married...

In Daphne du Maurier's story, adapted by Nunnally Johnson, Burton suspects that Olivia de Havilland has murdered his cousin / guardian (John Sutton) in Florence. When she arrives in Cornwall he is smitten and ends up giving her all his inheritance. The ending is very muddy indeed and we're not sure what she has or hasn't done. We were left perplexed, which isn't ideal.

Ronald Squire is the step-father and the film in which I kept (not) seeing him in was The Rocking Horse Winner; his cute daughter Audrey Dalton (also Separate Tables).

Good stirring score from Franz Waxman, photographed by Joe LaShelle. Fox.





No comments:

Post a Comment