The Guilt of Janet Ames

Loved the premise for 'The Guilt of Janet Ames', back when the fascinating subject of psychiatry was very much fashionable to portray on film and stage. It has always been a brave one and interesting from a psychological standpoint. A further interest point was the opportunity to see Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas in atypical roles, darker and more tortured and not the sparkling comedy or debonair kind of roles they were better known for.

'The Guilt of Janet Ames' is not a perfect film, can see why it is not to others' tastes, and is not on the same level of relatively similar themed films that have already been named such as 'Spellbound' and especially 'The Snake Pit'. 'The Guilt of Janet Ames' still struck me as very interesting and atmospheric, and although the first half is better than the second it always engaged me enough and deserving of more credit.

Am going to start with naming what could have been done better. The whimsy in the dream sequences for my tastes was overdone at times. Will agree with others that Sid Caesar was out of place, and not in a slight way but a case of when he appeared it took me out of the film and didn't gel tonally.

It got a little too melodramatic and silly towards the end.

However, 'The Guilt of Janet Ames' has so many good things. It looks great, being in particular beautifully and atmospherically shot. It is also beautifully scored, in a haunting and at times melancholic sense. The direction is always taut yet sympathetic. 'The Guilt of Janet Ames' also benefits from an on the most part thought-provoking script that is very insightful in what it has to say about guilt postwar and the consequences of paranoia.

Which is depicted harrowingly often, and this is evident in the story which is often suspenseful and poignant. The characters are strongly defined and both Russell and particularly Douglas provide hard hitting portrayals of true intensity and raw emotional power without being overwrought.

Overall, good if not great. 7/10.

I got a problem: I think Rosalind Russell was/is a beautiful woman.

The fact that she could stand up to the likes of Cary Grant and upstage him practically in His Girl Friday does not deter me from the Opinion, that there was something just so attractive about her, especially in the years she was a leading lady, a time which spans several decades actually.

THIS film is an absolute GEM. I caught it early this AM, and I was completely interested in the well-being of Janet Ames. Dramatically, the story may not be the best, but the way the principals are played by Russell and leading man Melvyn Douglas, cause the viewer to get interested in what happens.

The only slightly-out-of-place item is the semi-comedic section with Sid Caesar- But actually, that part is used as a bridge, and Russel played it totally straight, which put the attention on Sid Caeser and what he was doing, and so, instead of the film going potentially wholly offtrack into a comedic area, it is contained and the viewer is brought back into the solemnity of the story.

This is a very wonderful film and shows a serious side to Russell that is actually refreshing.

I'm surprised THE GUILT OF JANET AMES is not better known; I find it a very affecting film, even if the fey whimsy is a little overdone in the dream sequences. From its opening moments the movie has a palpable post-war atmosphere, a melancholy feel that must have resonated with audiences at the time, many of whom had suffered grief and loss due to the war. The movie also demonstrates the increasing prominence of psychoanalysis in American culture at that time. I will not rehash the plot in detail here, since other reviewers have already done so. Suffice to say that this is the story of two people scarred by the war and how they help each other to heal. It is a story about forgiveness, new beginnings and the possibility of new love blossoming from the ashes of death. The film rides on the great talents of Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas, two of classic Hollywood's finest actors. Russell, so well known as a comedienne, excels in the dramatic psychological role of the suffering war widow Janet Ames, and Douglas is imposingly brilliant as the depressed alcoholic journalist Smithfield Cobb. Look out for a young Sid Caesar portraying a stand-up comedian (not too much of a stretch there!) and Hugh Beaumont (Beaver's dad on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER) as another one of the war comrades whom Janet visits in a dream sequence.

An interesting storyline of a grieving war widow could have been a much more satisfying film. The story is told in imagery of what her husband's war buddies might have been like, but it would have been harder edged if we had been shown the real individuals. The underlying message of don't grieve too long for loved ones killed in the war through their own bravery is clear, but it falls a bit flat.

The other IMDb reviews, positive and negative, make valid points about the virtues and flaws of this obscure 1947 film. It grabbed my interest immediately in the title sequence. Russell and Douglas, almost always cast up to then in comedies(romantic or otherwise),in a dramatic film. (Easy to know it was a drama from the title and from the title music.)

And the music, all through the film--gorgeous, moving, and like no 1940's score I've ever heard. By George Dunning, it was straight out of the mid to late 1950's. A minor revelation to me, a film soundtrack buff.

Back to the fascinating cast: Betsy Blair (Gene Kelly's surprisingly wafe-like wife, who I'd only seen in "Marty"), Nina Foch (a talented, skilled "serious" actress, who made too few films), Sid Caesar (before his genius TV comic career).

Once into the film,I was grabbed by Melvyn Douglas's masterfully realistic and believable performance, not a hint of acting with a big A.

Can't say the same for Russell--she hit the right emotional notes, but always seemed to be ACTING.

One more grabber was the extended, purposely and artfully artificial trance sequences, playing out the heroine's mind. Very effective though obviously done on a low budget.

As of this writing, in Nov. 2017, the film is uploaded on YouTube in murky but watchable 15 minute segments. Definitely worth a watch.