Huellas femeninas

This film was made in the days when dialogue was king, and this dialogue requires the viewer to pay attention. There are elements of Rosalind Russel's performance in "His Girl Friday" with stinging repartee delivered subtly by the four stars. Good acting is required here too, because much is conveyed through the actors eyes. Scenes with Russell, Francis, Heflin, and Ameche all on screen at once are a real treat, and no one upstages anyone else. I would guess they had fun making this funny picture, which is underrated by many people who do not follow the actors' exchanges.

Look too, for Robert Ryan who is uncredited in his early pre-war days, and an uncredited song by a barely 21 year-old Peggy Lee, who had just joined Benny Goodman's Band; and oh, my, you can hear her rich, cool, perfect pitch starting to come alive.

Any old film aficionado would be drawn to a film starring Rosalind Russell, Don Ameche, Van Heflin and Kay Francis, so it's no surprise that this poster tuned into "The Feminine Touch," a 1941 comedy. The story concerns a college professor, John Hathaway (Ameche) who has written a very intellectual book on jealousy and travels with his wife (Russell) to meet his publisher Elliot (Heflin) and editor Nellie (Francis). Elliot likes to play around, and Nellie is in love with him. Julie keeps trying to make her husband jealous, not by deed but by hints that a certain man likes her, for instance, and is he worried - thinking that a jealous outburst would be proof of his love. However, he trusts her unreservedly and never suspects her of anything. He's especially sure that despite Elliot's interest in her, Julie would never reciprocate - because Elliot has a beard, and Julie hates them.

This film is a case of too many cooks, as this screenplay was worked over by several writers. The premise is flimsy, for starters, and I fear Russell is miscast. Rosalind Russell in films is a beautiful woman, but she has a strength and intelligence about her as well. It's not an ingénue beauty. In the world of "The Feminine Touch," despite her tailored suits, every man who meets her falls madly in love with her. I could have bought it if it had been Lana Turner. I'm not buying it here. Women like Russell are the "whole package" and men fall for her in a different way and probably after a conversation or two - not on sight. And then, to have a smart woman like Julie upset because her husband never gets jealous is ridiculous. It might bother an immature 18-year-old, but this character? The end of the film -- which comes about 15 minutes later than it should have - is the best part, as it turns into a more screwball comedy with Julie setting fire to Elliot's beard and other crazy things happening. Otherwise, the film drags on with too much dialogue. I'm not opposed to dialogue - All About Eve has a large amount of dialogue. This dialogue was superfluous, probably because a scene or two could have been tossed.

Heflin proves himself as adept at comedy as he is at drama, Francis is delightful, as is Ameche, who makes a good professorial type. Someone mentioned the clothing - Francis wears one hat that looks like a rendition of the Mickey Mouse Club ears, except with taller ears and the entire hat covered in fur. It was one of the funniest things in the movie.

I agree with "Aeovox" below that this is an unusual film, and also an unsatisfactory one. I was drawn to it by the presence of Don Ameche and Rosalind Russell in the cast. I thought the whole premise of the film - the Dionysian wife's unhappiness with her Appolonian husband's refusal to recognize the emotional legitimacy of jealousy, and her subsequent attempts to make him jealous - was a bit tenuous, and it is executed in a rather - to me at least - incoherent way. The movie is far too talky, although that talk often is quite witty (and just as often seems implausible and pointless), and goes on far too long. The slapstick bits are weak. On the whole, despite the good efforts of Ameche and Russell, I found this a disappointment.

I am second to none in my admiration for Roz Russell, but she was clearly second choice for this role. The wife is supposed to slay men at first sight and make them behave like idiots. Sorry, but that's not Roz. It seems tailor made for Hedy Lamarr, who would have been at the height of her beauty in 1941. Even the Adrian wardrobe looks designed with Lamarr in mind. Someone above mentioned Lana Turner, but she would have been too young at this time. Also, Roz plays it like a half-wit, something Lamarr wouldn't have to resort to, as a war-bride who had trouble with American idioms and customs. Ameche, Heflin and Francis are terrific as usual, as is the rest of the supporting cast. And I loved the production design, van Heflin's couch and lamps in his NY apartment are particularly terrifying, as is Kay Francis's "beaver-mouse ears" hat. And I LOVE that Dali-esquire dream sequence. Someone ought to do a compilation of the Dali-inspired dream sequences from the period. There were lots.

Don Ameche plays a very cerebral professor who avoids dealing with his wife (Rosalind Russell) by over-intellectualizing their relationship. While she does love him, his refusal to act like a human being irritates her to no end--especially when he never shows an ounce of jealousy, no matter what she does. Even when Rosalind spends time with her husband's publisher, the lecherous Van Heflin, Ameche refuses to act jealous and he takes his marriage for granted. At first, I found Russell's demands for jealousy to be petty, but after a while I wondered how any woman could live with the cold and annoying Ameche. Only later in the film when Ameche loosened up and showed his wife that he cared was everyone able to live happily ever after.

This is a little comedy from MGM that tries very hard to entertain and generally does, though at times the humor does seem a tad forced. However, despite this and the shallowness of the script, the actors are fun to watch and the film has a certain kooky charm that make it a nice, though not especially deep, time-passer. Worth a look, but that's really about all.