Bitter Sweet

Based on a play by Noel Coward, BITTER SWEET is a story about a young girl (Anna Neagle) who falls in love with a young music teacher (Fernand Gravey). They run off to Vienna where he struggles to make a living. They are offered jobs in a cafe where he will lead the orchestra and she will sing. They save their money and plan to open a cafe of their own. But she catches the attention of an arrogant army captain who pursues her. She fends him off and tells him she's married but he doesn't care. After he insults her on the dance floor, the husband sees what's going on and in a fit of anger challenges the soldier. He is quickly killed by the soldier.

The framework of the old lady telling young lovers her story doesn't really add anything except for Neagle to dress up old. Still there is a bitter sweet moment when the old lady starts to sing "I'll See You Again," a song from her youth. The young lovers and orchestra (they're at a party) pick up the tune and start to swing it, ruining the memory.

Anna Neagle is quite good as the young woman and sings nicely. Fernand Gravey is good as the dreamer of a husband. A standout here is Ivy St. Helier as Manon, the cabaret star, who sings "If Love Were All." Co-stars include Miles Mander as the captain, Esme Percy as Hugh, Clifford Heatherley as Schlick, and Michael Wilding among the extras.

MGM filmed this story in Technicolor in 1940, starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, and George Sanders. The MGM version is a lavish musical.

Noel Coward hated MGM's opulent 1940 Techicolor remake of his 1929 operetta; and it's customary to decry it as a glossy travesty and claim this earlier version preferable to it. However, I haven't seen the 1940 version since 1973 but still recall it vividly (and with affection); while I saw this version in 1984 and couldn't remember a thing about it until I saw it again today - when I could see why.

Herbert Wilcox lacked the budget to make anything as resplendent as MGM's version; and thus by default turns in a superficially less kitschy production. It is handsomely photographed by Freddie Young and designed by L. P. Williams, with interesting costumes by Doris Zinkeisen. But only the tiniest slivers of Coward's wit survive Wilcox's leaden direction: and as I watched Anna Neagle constantly hold her hands up in front of her in a 'silent movie' posture that would have looked exaggerated twenty years earlier I kept wishing that Wilcox would do his job and tell her to keep them by her side where they belonged. The chemistry between her and lover Fernand Gravey is non-existent; and even Esme Percy is at a loss to do anything with his under-written part as her stuffy husband-to-be.

The film eventually comes to life with the appearance of Ivy St. Helier repeating the stage role Coward especially wrote for her as saucy Manon la Crevette (Kay Hammond is also very funny in a fleeting role as the worldliest looking of the tavern wenches), and really takes off when Miles Mander swaggers on to the set as the odious Captain Auguste Lutte (a crew-cut George Sanders played his equivalent in the remake); who proceeds charmlessly to pursue the understandably unenthusiastic Miss Neagle, and simply won't take no for an answer. You hate Mander so much you want to give that nasty little moustache of his a good, painful yank.

This is a light romantic story (operetta originally) filled with melodies such as the lovely "I'll See You Again" sung by Sarah (Anna Neagle). The tale begins with Sarah, now older, reminiscing about her first love. As a young girl Sarah falls in love with Carl, a musician, and runs off with him to Vienna. They are happily wed and Carl earns a living conducting a small orchestra Viennese style. Enter a certain Captain who sets his eye on Sarah and proceeds to shower her with his attentions, much to her dismay.

This film is almost an early version of "Maytime" (1937) which starred Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, as they are similar yet vary in the plot line. Needless to say I like them both a great deal.

If you enjoy musicals with gentle charm and are 'oh so romantic', do try to see this one.

When MGM remade Noel Coward's operetta in 1940, they made such a botch of it that he a) wept, b) promised he would never sell anything to Hollywood again, and c) kept his promise. He might have been happier with this 1933 British adaptation, which is at least closer to the source material and less pretentious. It's not ideal: The third act is missing, and the leads, Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey, are leaden. British audiences loved Ms. Neagle, but she simpers a lot, her vocal ability isn't up to this challenging score, and her performance is mostly about her blonde ringlets. Gravey seems rather young for the part, and his voice is way too light. The director, Herbert Wilcox, indulges in a lot of fancy twirling cameras and feet-only shots, but he's merely calling attention to.himself and detracting from the touching little story. The movie comes vibrantly to life with the appearance of Ivy St. Helier, who originated the role onstage and is so.charismatic and urgent, her performance hasn't dated at all; she's postmodern. She makes a banquet out of "If Love Were All," and she and Miles Mander, playing a reprehensible military man, outshine the rest of the cast. Certainly it could have been better, especially with better casting, but it captures a fair amount of Coward's stage vision, and remains an operetta far more intelligent and atmospheric than most operettas.

This 1933 British movie is among the first of the Noel Coward plays to be put on film. "Bitter Sweet" is a drama tragedy set around music and romance. Coward wrote it originally as an operetta. The lead actress, Anna Neagle sings just twice in the film. She plays Sarah Millick , aka, Sari Linden. More music is provided with an orchestra and the singing of Ivy St. Helier, who is very good as a French-Austrian cabaret singer.

Fernand Gravey plays Carl Linden. Miles Mander is particularly effective as the dastardly Captain Lutte. And, Clifford Heatherley is very good as the restaurateur, Herr Schlick.

Aside from the musical numbers, and one or two exceptions, the acting is just so-so. This film is in the first years of the talkies, and it still has some of the dramatic style of the silent screen. Neagle, in particular, has several posed pauses with overly dramatic facial close-ups. Mander also has a couple of those. Such film techniques were part of the silent film milieu in order to get messages across. But, once sound came in, most studios were quick to get away from this acting and filming technique. With sound, it comes across as very hammy.

The plot also seems to drag on a bit too long, with little new or interesting happening. The remedy would have been more musical numbers - at least a couple more songs by Neagle. But, as it is, even with what seems like an elaborate setting in the Schlick café during much of the last half of the film, this movie closely resembles a daytime soap opera. I haven't yet seen the 1940 version with Claudette Colbert and Nelson Eddy.

Devoted fans of Noel Coward and Anna Neagle may enjoy this film somewhat. Still, I enjoy Coward and Neagle but found it hard to stay interested in this film.