Corridor of Mirrors

Terence Young found a huge audience thanks to his James Bond movies ("Dr No" "From Russia with love" "Thunderball" ) ,which remain,along "Goldfinger" ,the best 007 ever made ,the only ones which will endure.One should add he tackled many genres : the historical drama ("Mayerling" ),sword and sandal ("Orazi e Curiazi")and thrillers the best of which is certainly "wait until dark" which features an excellent performance by Audrey Hepburn.

And then there's "corridor of mirrors" .It compares favorably with "Beauty and the Beast" (Cocteau) ,"POrtrait of Jennie" (Dieterlé),Peter Ibbetson (Hathaway) and "dead of night" (various directors).It's Young's first effort and his best movie by such a wide margin one cannot imagine which one of his later production could be number two.

It's impossible to summarize such a complex tale ,which borrows from fairy tales ("La Barbe-bleue") Wilde's "Portrait of Dorian Gray" Val Lewton's productions and the movies I mention above but brings it all back home.

A man is living in the past cause past is certain and future might be dangerous.He seduces a woman and asks for a rendezvous in Madame Tussaud's museum.Taking place in the present and in the past,in a home in the English country,in the famous museum ,in a sumptuous palace with a fascinating corridor of mirrors ,symbol of illusions and of a time which ,no matter what he tries, is passing by the hero,a time which is not on his side ,even if he goes back as far as the Italian Renaissance -with scenes of carnival which may have inspired Fellini for "Casanova" -this is the lost gem of the English cinema.

"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.

A recommendable film if you'll overlook and forgive certain elements (the dialog and acting are rather stiff by today's standards). The twisting plot unfolds satisfactorily: in the introduction a woman travels to keep an ominous meeting and recalls a previous love affair. In flashback we learn of her lover's strange obsession to transform her into the image of another woman. He himself seems to belong to another time and place, lost in the past. Is he sane, is he safe to trust? Only after keeping her appointment, do we learn the true nature and motivations of the man.. and of others. This film predates "Vertigo" by a decade, but the similarities are eerie. Enjoy the lush sets and costumes. The score does much to set the tone of mystery and fantasy. And finally, Edana Romney is gorgeous (I think I once knew someone who looked JUST like her... )

This is expert, expert film making, rich in atmosphere and mood, and easily as good as the best gothics and psychological 'horror' films of the forties such as Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Seventh Veil, or the Val Lewton works. I don't think there was a single scene that did not hold my attention. I could not begin to enumerate all the little touches and flourishes of lighting, camera angle, dialog, story ideas, etc. but I particularly enjoyed the seamless interweaving of references to Lewis Carroll's Alice (when Edana Romney follows the white cat (white rabbit surrogate) through the labyrhinthine corridors of the mansion, or to Othello/Romeo and Juliet at the Venetian ball, or again to Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast. Some compare this film to to Cocteau (it's on the video box), with its ornate and detailed set, as well as its theme, but Corridor of Mirrors for all its fine acting, atmosphere, and mastery of technique is not genius. It is not poetically simple. But if you liked any of the films mentioned above, you will definitely enjoy watching dark, mysterious leading lady Edana Romney (who also co wrote the screenplay) search for the inner resources to free herself from the spell of an incredibly intense and psychologically compelling, but morbid, life.

Edana Romney (Mifanwy) receives a telegram to meet up with an ex-lover Eric Portman (Paul Mangin) in London at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. She arrives at the pre-arranged rendez-vous next to Marie Antoinette and as she waits, she daydreams……….and we are taken back in flashback to the days of her love affair with Portman. He is a wealthy artist with some definitely strange ideas. He lives in the past. Literally. And he believes Edana is part of his destiny. Theirs is a 400 year love affair which needs sorting out.

It's a good-looking film with a huge house at the centre of the proceedings. It's atmospheric and the costumes are great. There is definitely an unworldly feel as the film develops and the story will keep you guessing as to what is going on in the mind of strange Eric Portman. The acting is good all round, including the minor characters, with a mention to singer Joan Maude (Caroline) who plays a crucial role. The dialogue is funny at times with Romney's father, Bruce Belfrage (Sir David), coming out with the classic "…hardest hard-on…". Listen out for it near the beginning of the film when Romney returns home to find Belfrage watching a film. It's hilarious.

So, it's time to organize a Venetian ball…………just watch out if you are a female with long dark hair. You never know what type of nutter is in the area.