Femmes coupables

Until They Sail (1957)

In some ways this is a terrific movie about women at home as their soldier men fought in World War II. The setting is New Zealand, and the women are four sisters there. The men are mostly American soldiers, seen not as invaders but still as aliens who are not quite welcome, The filming in wide screen (Cinemascope, really wide) black and white is fabulous. And the acting, including key roles by Paul Newman and Jean Simmons, is great.

There isn't a stick of actual fighting here, if you want that kind of movie. Instead it's an interwoven tale of women trying to survive lost husbands in the war, and finding love, or not, in the mixed up world of war time New Zealand.

It's an interesting cast, with three women and one man (Paul Newman) as the top four billings. And a story by James Michener, with photography by Joseph Ruttenberg. Sounds like a winner, especially as the director (with MGM) was the soon to be legendary Robert Wise.

The scene is New Zealand during WWII. And it has to be added that Joan Fontaine and Jean Simmons are both first rate actresses (and Sandra Dee is getting a breakout role), all playing young women left behind by the men called to war. It's filmed in a kind of somber, clear-eye black and white, very emphatic and straight forward. It's what Paul Newman insisted was a "woman's picture," and in fact it really is about the four sisters and their varying interests in men.

Jean Simmons shines far more than the famed Joan Fontaine, and she is the counterpart for Paul Newman, who is the point man for the American presence (and the introduction to American men). The writing is a bit stiff and the editing sometimes slow, as if the nuances of fairly mundane reactions and intentions are worth lingering over. They aren't, not always. If you make it beyond the long long establishing scenes, you'll eventually get sucked in. I'm a huge fan of Simmons, who seems undeniable in any role and not just for some kind of cover girl beaiuty, and so I loved her scenes, which are numerous.

And yet, even if this movie seems to follow some ordinary romantic path, you can't help but feel, individually, for the four women wanting to not be alone. (It has some echo of "Little Women," to me.) That's the reason to hang in there. It takes time to get invested in the characters and their needs. Paul Newman is very good as usual, but more restrained than you might expect. Handsome, but without some kind of edge that made him bigger than life.

This strikes me as a drama, not a war film but about a human problem that happens to have some soldiers in it. It's not all great stuff-some of the writing is filler, or a bit dumbed down-but the best of it is felt and honest, and it's all seen (filmed) with classic beauty. The interwoven series of relationships with several women and several men has a weird echo of the earlier "The Best Years of Their Lives," and that's a good thing (and Ruttenberg holds his own against Gregg Toland in that parallel). In fact, the photography in black and white Cinemascope (anamorphic wide screen) is really special, for those who notice such things.

This is pure Hollywood, shot on an MGM lot (and studio). But it does to show how the "old" method worked so well. So, I loved this more than many of you will because of it's moviemaking aspects. It will get patient at times, but we all have to make time sometimes. As these women learned, too, without any choice.

Very good Paul Newman about the effect that war has on people's lives as they try to cope with their loneliness due to separation.

It was a great ensemble cast with Newman and Jean Simmons (Oscar nominations for The Happy Ending and Hamlet), Joan Fontaine (Oscar for Suspicion, and nominations for Rebecca and The Constant Nymph), Piper Laurie (Oscar nominations for Carrie, Children of a Lesser God, The Hustler), and Sandra Dee.

For a 1957 film, it really took on issues such as infidelity and illegitimate children and the casualness of sex during wartime.

Newman was great as the officer charged with investigating girls who soldiers wanted to marry and take back home. He played a character very familiar in his films - one that had a close relationship with the bottle.

James A. Michener's WWII tale of four sisters in a seaside New Zealand home who experience the highs and lows of love. With nearly all the men in their town off fighting in the war, the gals are at first apprehensive, but finally grateful when the streets fill up with American Yanks on leave. Joan Fontaine, as the eldest of the clan, falls for handsome soldier Charles Drake from Oklahoma (and has his child out of wedlock!), while Jean Simmons manages to get close to cynical, hard-drinking Paul Newman. Piper Laurie, as sort of the beautiful black sheep of the family, tires quickly of her sudden marriage and heads off to nearby Wellington to play the field. Sandra Dee, in her film debut, is very cute as a dimply, growing 15-year-old with a passion for boys. Attractive M-G-M production surprises in its openness of sexual matters, yet the flashback framework was unnecessary, as were the stock-shots of battleships on the horizon (making it seem as if the girls live on their own private island). Though each actor gets equal screen-time, Laurie nearly steals the picture with a finely-etched portrayal of a young woman desperately trying to find herself--and feeling the strangulation of family ties (she's also extraordinarily lovely here). Not up to the classics of the wartime movie genre, but certainly not bad. **1/2 from ****

I have to admit, when I first heard of this film, I didn't think it would keep my interest or attention. The casting, albeit comprised of talented performers, seemed a little odd: 40 year old Fontaine and 13 year old Sandra Dee as sisters sounds a little far fetched, but the pairing actually plays out believably on screen. The age difference translates into a believable mother/daughter type of sisterly relationship, which is appropriate since Fontaine's character has been left to tend to her three sisters after her parents' death.

Preconceived notions aside, the story is a compelling one, centering around four sisters in WWII New Zealand. Fontaine, Dee, Jean Simmons, and Piper Laurie all turn in admirable performances as the Lesley sisters in a plot that can sometimes seem a little implausible, or at the very least, ahead of it's time. Paul Newman also co-stars as a Marine officer who plays a pivotal role in the lives of the sisters, namely Simmons' character.

Not the best role of any of the principal actors' careers, but definitely worth seeing, especially if you are drawn to WWII era dramas.

As I wrote in the summary, this is NOT your typical war movie full of action and battles with fire-arms scenes; so, if you want to see something similar to THE LONGEST DAY or BATTLE OF BRITAIN, this movie it's not for you!

Now I am not saying that UNTIL THEY SAIL it's bad. I am saying that this movie, instead of focusing on the war actions, it focuses on the women left behind waiting their husbands from the war and their woes and all the differences between them. And, even though it's not a must-see movie, it's actually pretty good.

Visually, this movie is beautifully shot, and the locations (in New Zealand) are simply a delight to watch; the soundtrack, even though it's not outstanding, it's also pretty good. And the pace, although it dragged half-way, it's measured.

The performances are all good: Paul Newman (in one of his first movies) it's charismatic and cool as always; Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie and Sandra Dee are credible and give heart-felt performances, and Jean Simmons, like Newman, gives a deep and touching performance. And it's directed by Robert Wise, another great director of the 1950s-1960s.

The story is very realistic and never gets over the top despite the setting and subject explored. In substance, even with a few flaws, it's well done and worth-watching.