Tramonto d'amore

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.

Myrna Loy stars as Lady Brooke in this British drama about a woman who accompanies her sick husband to convalesce in Italy, leaving behind her lover (Richard Greene). After a poison pen letter arrives, warning the husband (Roger Livesey) about his wife, Loy has to think past and makes up a story that Greene is actually in love with their daughter (Peggy Cummins). But things take a turn for the worst when both the daughter and the lover arrive in Italy.

Loy encourages Greene to go along with the charade while he's in Italy, but she doesn't count on two things: 1 that Cummins is secretly in love with Greene, and 2 that the opal necklace he gives her will prove to be unlucky.

Loy swallows a bitter pill when Greene, after being pushed into Cummins' company, falls for her. Back in London after Livesey has recovered, a cocktail party is thrown where Livesey's bitter and drunk sister (Margaret Withers) spills the beans (but not her drink) about Loy's relationship with Greene and all hell breaks loose.

The four stars are quite good in this romantic drama, though the ending may be a bit of a stretch.

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.

"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.

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.