L'Autre Homme

Terrence Rattigan's play was a popular success in London, tho not in the NY production that starred Margaret Sullavan. There were two revivals last year, one in London and one in NY, starring Blythe Danner. Although the movie is boxy and stagebound, it does preserve one of Rattigan's most entrancing creations, Hester Collyer (Vivien Leigh), a woman all at once rabid with latent sexual desire and without remorse or ounce of self-pity for her choices. The performance more than meets the requirement that Hester should never be viewed as either sordid or immoral. Listen, this is the early 50s.

Rattigan's closest American playwright kin was William Inge. Like Inge, he favored characters tormented with issues out of sexual repression and the price they paid for what society, then, viewed as their *sins.* Like Inge, Rattigan was homosexual and often used his characters to illuminate his own dark closet. A video transfer is desperately needed.

After her second Oscar in Streetcar Named Desire Vivien Leigh made only three more films and in all of them she played older women who are hungering for love. Hardly the image of the saucy Scarlett O'Hara which she won her first Oscar with, but it did allow her to transition into roles for older women. This one her in The Deep Blue Sea is way too uncomfortably close to her real life.

In this film it opens with her attempting suicide and being saved by prying neighbors. Her much younger second husband has left her and in flashbacks we learn what was going on. Vivien had been raised a prim and proper church girl with a country parson for a father. She learned the biblical view of sex that did not leave much room for later research into the field on a more clinical basis. She married the older and more settled Emlyn Williams who is a judge. But as they got older Emlyn got less interested in sex. Enter Kenneth More who was an RAF air ace and now a test pilot. That's real glamor for her and like Anna Karenina, another Leigh part she leaves Williams and runs off with More.

But More's got issues also, he's an alcoholic and deep down he's looking for a mother figure. Since she and Williams had no children, Leigh isn't recognizing this nor is she prepared to deal with it.

Terrence Ratigan adapted his own play to the screen and rather well since the play only takes place in Leigh's apartment. We get some scenes of London night life in 1955 and with More's job, part of the film takes place at an air show. On Broadway the play ran for 132 performances in 1952-53 and starred Margaret Sullavan.

Offering advice and counsel is defrocked psychiatrist Eric Portman who is a neighbor. But as Leigh finds out as does the audience there are no no easy answers.

The Deep Blue Sea is not as good a work from Ratigan as The Browning Version or Separate Tables. Still the cast performs well, especially Vivien Leigh who made very infrequent screen appearances now.

"The Deep Blue Sea" is a rather depressing film where, at times, art seems to be imitating life. Vivien Leigh stars in this film as a woman who is suicidal her second marriage dissolves. This marriage is, frankly, a mess...as her husband is an alcoholic and he has a lot of ambivalence about their marriage. In contrast, her first husband loves her and wants her back...and she feels that this relationship is boring. I said art imitating life because in real life, Miss Leigh' own behaviors and relationships were a bit like the film...complete with suicidal ideation and affairs.

So is the film worth seeing? It depends. While the script is good as well as the acting, it's also a seriously depressing story...one that also is tough to watch because you really DON'T like the characters nor care about the mess they've made of their lives. As for me, I just couldn't wait for the movie to end.

"The Deep Blue Sea" represents a notable staple in the film repertoire of Vivien Leigh. Given the enormous popularity and artistic achievements of this consummate British actress, it seems incredible that this film is not available on video. She is always fascinating to watch, and this drama about marital difficulties provides her with a good "modern day" role, compared to her many period/costume pieces. She is beautiful, skillful, and intelligent in her approach to and realization of her characters, and all are evident in this sensibly presented drama. Her co-star, Kenneth More, is professional as always; Eric Portman gives his usual strong character support; and the appearance of Emlyn Williams is a special bonus. The film needs to be seen on the big screen in CinemaScope to get its maximum impact. It deserves to be revived, and more importantly, made available on video.

After watching the Terence Rattigan DVD collection (with most of the adaptations being from the 70s and 80s) when staying with family friends last year, Rattigan very quickly became one of my favourite playwrights and he still is. His dialogue is so intelligent, witty and meaty, his characterisation so dynamic, complex and real and the storytelling so beautifully constructed.

'The Deep Blue Sea' may not be among my favourite Rattigan plays ('The Browning Version', 'The Winslow Boy', 'Separate Tables'), but it's still wonderful and distinctively Rattigan. The writing is 24-carat Rattigan and the story is timeless in its searing emotion and romantic passion. It's very sharply observant and emotionally searing. This rarely viewed and as of now unavailable film version of 'The Deep Blue Sea' is deserving of more exposure.

It may not be one of the best representations of Rattigan in general (i.e. 1951's 'The Browning Version', 1948's 'The Winslow Boy' and 1958's 'Separate Tables'), but it is as good an adaptation of 'The Deep Blue Sea' as can suffice (not the best but one of them). It is a shame that it is unavailable on DVD and can as of now only be viewed in a rather poor print on Youtube. If and when available on DVD, while it's not perfect it deserves to be, it needs to be a restoration. It is a shame that it got a tepid response when released, it is understandable in a way that it didn't connect with viewers considering the film competition that year and that it was considered too cold, talky and sedate at the time and perhaps the subject was a little inaccessible to some at the time.

With that being said, 'The Deep Blue Sea' is still well worth the viewing. Mainly for seeing Kenneth More in one of his best performances (he is brilliant here), Vivien Leigh in an achingly personal performance (that sees her as beautiful, but not too beautiful, and to me she wasn't too cold) and the two of them together in a pretty passionate chemistry (do disagree respectfully with More himself that it was poor) that contrasts well with the suitably passionless one for Hester's marriage as it should be. Plus a sterling, distinguished supporting cast with Eric Portman and Emlyn Williams being the standouts. The only exception with the latter is Jimmy Hanley, who is a little wooden.

Malcolm Arnold's music score is understated but swells passionately at the right moments. The script is thought-provoking and observant, with the wit and nuances captured well even with changes, there is a lot of talk but that is the case with the play itself and Rattigan in general. The story may not be as searing as with the play and may lack its intimacy in places, but the characters, the meaty way they're written and their stories are handled quite well.

Anatole Litvak's direction could have been more expansive, other film adaptations of Rattigan's work have done a better job of opening up their respective source material and even extending it, and although it is an intimate story the direction is a little too sedate and self-contained. 'The Deep Blue Sea' has been criticised for substandard production values, to me the settings and costumes are lovely to look at and some of the film is atmospherically lit but it is let down by the poor print with the faded and grainy picture quality and less than lavish and at times incomplete looking photography.

Overall, underviewed film that despite its faults is interesting and worth the watch. 7/10 Bethany Cox