Im Banne der Vergangenheit

This is an eerily effective drama from Terence Young. It all centres around Eric Portman's characterisation of "Mangin". An enigmatic man who arranges to meet the young "Mifanwy" (Edana Romney) who bears a striking resemblance to a woman whose portrait hangs on a wall in his home; a woman he claims to have loved centuries earlier. Could this be possible? What makes this interesting - despite the really quite static acting performances - is the way the story develops. It's quirky. It's darkly menacing - but not in a frightening may, more a sinister and grisly theme that allows us to speculate about what did - or didn't - happen, walking a thin line between history, fantasy and sanity before an ending that left me feeling rather sorry for just about everyone. The photography lends loads to the almost claustrophobic imagery; it's almost as if it were lit by candlelight, with very few fully illuminated scenes. The drawback is the acting, though - neither Portman nor Romney quite delivered as well as I would have liked, and the dialogue is wordy which does drag it down a bit at times. That said, it's a creepy and enjoyable mystery that rarely sees the light of day now, and is certainly worth a watch. Mr. Young's directorial debut, too.

In Terence Young's first movie, Edana Romney is a society girl whiling her time away while the young man she's going to marry is overseas. She falls in with Eric Portman, who seems terribly rich and terrible arty.... but is obsessed with a 300-year-old painting of a young woman and reincarnation. When he gets around to showing it to Miss Romney, it's the spit and image of her, and he thinks he's the reincarnation of the Borgia she left for another man.

The remainder is part 18th Century Gothic literature, part war-weary spiritualism, and part obsessive behavior that Hitchcock would revisit in VERTIGO. Young directs it as a movie about madness, but it could have easily been tilted in favor of spiritualism, especially given the ornate palace sets, a wild medieval party, and the shafts of light that cinematographer Andre Thomas lays among Serge Pimenoff's Cyclopean sets. It's French realism gone mad, and the film makers knowing it. It's terribly arty, and almost self-congratulatory in its excesses. While it takes itself too seriously for my taste, it will certainly appeal to many people.

"Corridor Of Mirrors" is pretentious and derivative and seeks to emulate elements of 'Citizen Kane'and 'Beauty And The Beast'. The dialogue is stilted and the premise absurd. That said, I have to say that you have never - ever - seen sets like the ones in this picture. The art director should have had at least an Oscar nom for the magnificent interior of the mansion. The main staircase is colossal, and the hallway of mirrors is obscenely sumptuous. It makes you think the picture should have been made in color.

Eric Portman plays a fellow who thinks he is Cesare Borgia reincarnated, and that Edana Romney is his lost love. He is fabulously wealthy and scoots about London in his own Hansom cab (this is 1938!). With a come-hither look in an upscale singles bar, she instantly comes under his spell and is captivated. Complications ensue, but the regal splendor of his mansion overwhelms everything else to the viewer.

Eric Portman always came across to me as a cold fish, and is out of his depth as a romantic leading man. He gets no help from Miss Romney, who is unable to register the proper emotional responses at crucial times and shows herself to be a limited actress.

"Corridor Of Mirrors" is a good but not great movie. The subject matter is very unusual, though, and those set pieces will stay with you long after the movie is over. It was shown at the Columbus,O. Cinevent, 5/12.

I saw that one of my favorite film critics Eddie Muller insisted that this be shown at one of his Noir City Film Festivals even though it wasn't a noir. He said it was too good looking and had been obscure for far too long to not show to film lovers. I have to agree that it looks fantastic.

A woman who is already cheating on her husband decides to flirt with another man who is a weird dandy hipster obsessed with horse buggies and mirrors and speaks in obtuse quips. To up his weirdness, he's convinced he's a reincarnation of a 15th century member of the Borgias family.

Apart from the standard 40s silly melodrama and the very strange flashback that is most of the movie, the cinematography was outstanding. Especially during the 15th century Venetian party where most of the interesting action occurs. The overall look felt very French and sure enough when I looked to see who had lensed it, it was a Frenchman named Andre Thomas who worked in pre WWII France and Germany before fleeing to England to work in the film industry.

Watched on YouTube.

Terence Young made his directorial debut with Corridor of Mirrors, a strange Gothic romantic fantasy drama.

Mifanwy (Edana Romney) a married mother is travelling from Wales to London to meet her lover.

She goes to the Chamber of Horrors in Madame Tussaud's, her lover turns out to be one of the wax exhibits. We go to a flashback when Paul Mangin (Eric Portman) first meets young Mifanwy. Mangin is a man out of his time. Dressed in Edwardian clothes, goes about in a hansom cab and thinks he and Mifanwy were lovers in Renaissance Italy.

Mifanwy is Mangin's ideal fantasy woman, a seducer who has spent centuries looking for his perfect muse. There has been others but he is obsessed with Mifanwy who is the closest to his desires. We see the steps that lead to him being accused of murder.

There is an element of creakiness and archness in the acting that lets the film down. Portman is fine but Romney is the weak link. The production values are very good, the story is a little offbeat but it just does not come together well.