Llanto del corazón

People like me who are Susan Heyward's fans would not miss that."I thank a fool" begins as a melodrama,a genre where Heyward won renown ,but soon becomes a "psychoanalytic " thriller ,in the grand tradition of the forties " Freudian" flicks ("Cat People" "Spellbound" "Gaslight" "secret beyond the door" "dark mirror" "leave her to Heaven" and countless others) with echoes of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" thrown in for good measure.

This does not renew the genre but it is very well acted by the two leads and an excellent supporting cast.The lines are often intriguing ,particularly when Diane Cilento tells Heyward they are both in a prison.The ending is a bit artificial and finally disappointing,compared to those of the movies I mention above,but the movie should appeal to Susan Heyward's fans as well as psychological thrillers buffs.

The premise of I Thank a Fool is very intriguing, so don't be surprised if you rent it on that alone. Add in the cast of Susan Hayward and Peter Finch and you're in for a dramatic treat. Suzy plays a doctor who mercy-kills her boyfriend and gets sent to jail. When she's released, she doesn't know what kind of new life she'll have, since she obviously can't practice medicine anymore. She gets summoned to a large, beautiful estate to interview for a caretaking position. Diane Cilento seems normal enough, but her husband, Peter Finch, says she's not all there. . . Suzy's very reluctant to take the job - because Peter was the prosecutor who sent her to jail in the first place!

This movie really is as exciting as it sounds. I was hoping for a little more romantic tension between the two leads, but it's not that kind of movie. With the exception of the last five minutes, I was riveted and kept wanting to watch more. I'm always forgiving when a movie doesn't end the way I want it to, because you never know what got altered during screenplay revisions, studio insistences, and preview screenings. So, with that in mind, I'll recommend I Thank a Fool for anyone who likes the cast and is in the mood for a drama with a slightly mysterious and thrilling edge to it.

This movie was filmed in Crookhaven, a small fishing village (pop. 38) in West Cork. The village pub, O'Sullivan's Bar, has a large number of stills from the film on its walls. Many of the villagers were employed as extras in the film and some of them still live in the village. The current owner of the bar, Billy O'Sullivan, is pictured in one of the stills with Diane Cilento.

Audrey Erskine-Lindop wrote in a variety of genres and has proved popular with film makers. Although having seen all of them I must confess to having read none of the originals but judging by a synopsis of her 1958 novel 'I thank a Fool', this film adaptation is quite another story!

Unusually for the time it introduces the emotive and controversial issue of 'mercy killing' and the film is topped and tailed by a trial and an inquest. One would hazard a guess that these were inserted by uncredited contributor John Mortimer. The leading female character has been considerably changed to accommodate the age and persona of the customary American import but as she is played by the splendid Susan Hayward, who's complaining? The always-good-value Peter Finch plays the barrister whose prosecution puts her behind bars for manslaughter and who later proceeds to hire her to look after his schizophrenic wife! Yes, it's that sort of movie. The wife is played by Diane Cilento and although her Irish accent is rather in-and-out, she engages our sympathy and acquits herself well in a very demanding role. Playing her drunken, despicable father is Cyril Cusack who succeeds once again in stealing all of his scenes. Both Athene Seyler and Richard Wattis impress and there are brief but brilliant cameos by Miriam Karlin as a tart and Peter Sallis as a lecherous doctor. Even cigar store Indian Kieron Moore shows signs of life.

Superlative camerawork by Harry Waxman and what is for him an unusual score by Ron Goodwin which includes the tried and trusted Theramin for 'atmospheric' purposes.

There are a few plotholes along the way whilst the ending is somewhat contrived but very much in keeping with the melodramatic mood of the piece. Rather like the curate's egg, it is not all bad but is particularly good in parts.

Whatever its weaknesses it is infinitely preferable to director Robert Stevens' next collaboration with Peter Finch, 'In the cool of the Day' but that quite frankly would not be difficult.

I became aware of this film in 2010 when i was asked by my (then) girlfriend's sister to find her a copy. Their family come from, (and several still live in), Crookhaven in West Cork where the final scenes of the film were shot and several members of her family were used as extras. An uncle appears in the pub scenes and two of her brothers can be seen in the graveyard scene. Also, many local people known to them were featured. I tracked down a copy of the film and sent it over. I'm told that several viewings were arranged for the villagers (who number only about fifty people in the "off season") and much fun was had identifying local people in the film. The film itself has a strange, pretty unbelievable plot and i really can't imagine why Peter Finch and Susan Hayward agreed to star in it! Maybe they fancied a trip to Ireland! There are several "mistakes" in the film, although these are only obvious if you know Crookhaven. The graveyard scene is supposed to be after a Catholic service but was actually filmed in the Protestant graveyard, and when the bus arrives in the village it comes from the wrong direction, and later leaves in the wrong direction, Crookhaven being a dead end, the bus arriving and leaving by a road that doesn't exist! Still, the film does provide interesting external shots of The Marconi Tower and O'Sullivan's bar is a very nice place to have a beer today, as it was then. Go and see for yourself and tell Dermot O'Sullivan that Jeff says hello!