Non puoi impedirmi d'amare

I watched `In Name Only' the other night after about 20 odd years since the last time I watched it. I didn't realise how lovely this film actually was…..maybe age has matured me to such delights, who knows!!! Carole Lombard and Cary Grant star together and their pairing does work. Though the performance from Kay Francis was extremely convincing, she showed a cold calculated woman determined to keep Grant's character in a loveless marriage, parading a pretense to family and friends she was the hard-done-by wife.

Lombard's character Julie Eden was of course the opposite of Kay Francis's character……two different women in the extreme. Both women are vying for the same man, but with definite distinctions between them to what their reasons are..... one for love and the other for wealth and power. Amongst all this is Grant's character Alec Walker…….he knows to well of his wife's ambition, to the point of utterly loathing her (I actually think he does in the film).

The cinematography was sharp, editing and sound was to a high standard. The dialogue was clear and the plot was satisfactory……I say this because watching this film today really has no relevance to our society anymore. Couples just live with each other, there's no stigma attached or judgements made against them. The era of the film depicts a very different society code and morals.

`In Name Only' certainly has a place in my film collection. 8/10

Boy meets girl. Boy is married. Girl is widowed with a child. They fall in love, but his wife won't let him have his freedom. She will do anything to hold onto him. That is In Name Only in a nutshell...and what a masterpiece it is. With so many major films released in 1939, it is understandable how a film about 3 people in a grueling triangle can be overlooked. It seems that today, thanks to TCM, so many wonderful moments of screen history may once again be viewed and shared. I can remember as a child seeing this moving film on television. It was wonderful then, and even better now. The years have not left a mark on it. The evil portrayed by Kay Francis, subtle at times, flagrant at others keeps the viewer from feeling this is a sappy soap opera. As good as both Carole Lombard and Cary Grant are in this film, Kay outshines them. It's about time the world once again discovers the merits of Kay Francis. In this movie, she not only steals each scene she is in, but proves herself to have been thoroughly underrated as an actress. She was so much more than just a great beauty or a clotheshorse for the most stunning wardrobes in Hollywood. Try to catch each and every film she made and visit http://www.kayfrancisfilms.com/

This is the perfect movie to curl up to on a winter day and get lost in a soap opera. The performances are very good and Lombard is just gorgeous. I think the best reason to see it is to see Kay Francis in a comeback performance. She had been relegated to the undesirable list by the studios at this point in her career. Her portrayal of Maida, Cary Grant's uncompromising wife, is great fun to watch. The movie is a little cornball in parts but overall it works. Lombard fans really won't be disappointed.

This film is an old favorite and a crowd pleaser. I saw it recently and the amazing this is that even though 65 years have passed since its release, it still holds one's attention. Thanks to the direction of John Cromwell, this is a timeless classic.

The production of this film must have presented problems to the team involved in it. Films of the era stayed away from taboo themes because of the censorship, but this movie is an exception: an unhappily married man finds happiness with a widowed working mother. It is clear that there's nothing between Alec and Maida, a power couple living a life of luxury in the country.

Enter lovely Julie Eden. She is beautiful, talented, but with no desire to be a part of the country gentry around her. She's a free spirit who falls under the spell of a handsome Alec; who wouldn't? At the same time, Julie realizes this relationship has no future. She leaves the situation going back to Manhattan, trying to forget Alec.

The combination of Carole Lombard, playing Julie, against the Alec of Cary Grant, pays a great dividend. These two actors were meant to play opposite each other; they both bring enough charisma to fill a few other movies. Added to this mixture is the great Kay Francis, as Maida, the society wife who will not let go of her ticket to the life of luxury she is accustomed to.

The rest of the cast is excellent. Additional credit must go to Irene, the costume designer who had an eye for the clothes all the society types wore at the time.

A truly good time at the movies.

With all the rubbishy movies available today on DVD, why on earth is a masterpiece like this not available on that medium ? This is one of my all time favourites ( like Random Harvest, Waterloo Bridge, Last holiday etc ). I loved CG in Penny Serenade, but he is even better here. From beginning to end, your're clutching at your heart ! What a shame picture and sound quality are so bad. Can't this be re-mastered and numerized for God's sake. Performances by all involved are magnificent and you can't guess the outcome right up till the end. And of course I loved Charles Coburn (almost as good as in "Heaven can Wait" ). They just can't make films like this any more today even though the actual theme of the film is timeless. This is a must-see for all incurable romantics like myself !!!