Cet âge dangereux

"That Dangerous Age" is the only non-American movie Myrna Loy appeared in...at least that's what IMDB says about this one. And, I am actually glad she made this film abroad, as its plot about infidelity is one Hollywood would have avoided...particularly with Loy.

When the story begins, Sir Brian Brooke (Roger Livesy) is in court arguing a case. However, unexpectedly he faints and a doctor is rushed to his side. Soon the wife (Loy) receives the news...exhaustion from overwork is killing Sir Brian and he's been temporarily blinded! He must have six months complete rest...no work at all and no stress. During this time, his wife does everything for him in their retreat in Italy. Out of the blue, the couple receives a poison pen letter accusing the wife of adultery. At first, Sir Brian is accusatory but quickly apologizes...as he knows his good wife must be faithful and the letter a lie. However, after assuring him it was a lie, you learn that she was having an affair...and who would blame her considering what a neglectful and cold man Sir Brian had been. To placate him, she convinces Sir Brian that his assistant has NOT been having an affair with her since he's actually in love with his daughter (her step-daughter), Monica (Peggy Cummins). To help cover this up, the wife convinces her lover to court Monica...and soon the pair are in love!

Sounds complicated, huh? Of course. But it's also an adult look at infidelity and presents an interesting scenario where you have trouble hating the wife. You understand her unmet needs and the film gives you a lot to think about and consider. Well made and well worth seeing.

Roger Livesey is a renowned barrister who has gone blind. His doctor says that it could become permanent if he doesn't take a good, long vacation, so he, wife Myrna Loy, and his daughter from his firs marriage, Peggy Cummins, head off to Capri. Eventually Livesey's partner, Richard Greene, follows, and begins to court Miss Cummins, who is quite besotted with him. Miss Loy is the perfect wife and nurse to her husband, but gossip, unbeknownst to Livesey, is quite accurate in that she has been carrying on an affair with Greene which, she tells him, is now ended. But is the gossip?

It's a rare foreign film for Miss Loy, and she is, unsurprisingly, excellent in the role; director Gregory Ratoff gets fine performances from all the cast. He had wanted to film this in the 1930s at Fox, but undoubtedly had found it impossible to get through the Hays Office. What shows up on the screen attempts to handle the matter sensitively, but I found it a bit confused in its points, given that no one wished to be the villain in this piece. With Elizabeth Allan and a score that insists on quoting from Offenbach's Baccarole.

"If This Be Sin" (1949) stars Myrna Loy in a rôle definitely far removed from her image as the "half-caste" she played so often at the beginning of her career or the deliciously witty comedic wife of William Powell in the wonderful series of films, "The Thin Man" detective features. Here, along with Roger Livesey as her husband, Peggy Cummins as her step-daughter, and Richard Greene as her secret love (and lover), she plays a wife whose barrister husband lives for his work, at which he is a master, while she is relegated to the woman in his life, a showpiece, but not much else, though he doesn't even realize the fact. The entire plot is the sort of melodrama that could indeed play out in real life - - - until Greene actually falls for Loy's much younger step-daughter - - - who's already been infatuated with Greene... The ending comes out of nineteenth century novels and is ridiculous... HOWEVER, Loy and the rest of the crew are such professionals that it was a good watch. Can't say I'd recommend this necessarily, but it wasn't a chore. The rest of us can all suspend credulity every once in a while.

What's interesting about this film to me is that it was made up entirely of a British cast except Loy. Even Elizabeth Allan and Wilfrid Hyde-White show up. Directed, however, by Gregory Ratoff, interestingly enough. This was certainly a diversion for Loy. It gave her some meat in a rôle. Only the year before she'd been seen in "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" and just prior to that "The Senator Was Indiscreet", but her parts were secondary to the male leads. Here she had a chance to mope and tear up and chew and, and, and... Good performance, but the script is - well, it's just...

If you thought Something's Gotta Give had a bit of a sick storyline, you won't want to rent If This Be Sin. If you like your romances with messy triangles that don't respect family boundaries, you might enjoy this naughty romp.

Myrna Loy is married to Roger Livesey, and when he has a collapse, the doctor orders him to take off work and rest in Capri for six months, lest he become permanently blind. Why he has to rent an oceanfront villa is beyond me, since he can't enjoy the view - but I guess that's beside the point. The real point comes when Myrna is reading his mail to him. He gets an anonymous letter informing him that his wife is having an affair with his best friend. Instead of pretending the letter was a bill, or instead of thinking quickly and making up false contents of the letter, Myrna actually reads it to her blind husband. Why would she do such a thing? He goes into a rage and believes the accusation, and Myrna once again, acts incredibly stupidly. She blurts out that the rumor has to be false because (are you ready?) his best friend is actually having an affair with his daughter. Is that the worst excuse you've ever heard?

I didn't enjoy this one, even though I usually like complex love triangles. I just couldn't get behind this one, probably because the mess could have been so easily avoided at the start of the movie. Feeling sorry for Myrna was tough, since she created the situation for herself. Hoping Peggy Cummins would end up with her father's friend wasn't really in her best interest, I felt. You can give this movie a try if you want to, but it's not high on my list.

This film has not to my knowledge been shown in the UK since its release. This would imply that it is bad film,which it is not. An interesting quartet of stars act their hearts out. The American version that I saw has lost 26 minutes from the original version.