For all those viewers who have gotten their hearts broken in love (meaning practically all of us), for those who enjoy delightful romantic comedies, and for those of us who simply enjoy watching a nice solid '40s movie that has been put together by a group of seasoned pros, "The Voice of the Turtle" should fit the bill very nicely, indeed. Released on Christmas Day in 1947, the film was co-written by John van Druten, here adapting his hit Broadway play of four years earlier, and to winning effect.
In a nod to its release date, the film itself opens during the Christmas season of 1944, when we first get to meet the sweet and lovely Sally Middleton (Eleanor Parker), an aspiring actress who is in the process of being "dumped" by her current love interest, stage producer Kenneth Bartlett (Kent Smith, moustachioed here, for a change). Having recently been dumped by still another gent, Sally decides to call it quits with both men and romance for good. Her plans are soon derailed when her best friend, sassy Olive Lashbrooke (Eve Arden, here having perfected her "second-banana" supporting act to a fine science; "The war has made men so unpredictable," she declares at one point), decides to ditch her visiting suitor, Sgt. Bill Page (Ronald Reagan, here 33 years before becoming Ronald Raygun), in favor of spending the weekend with his commanding officer, Comm. Ned Burling (a very amusing Wayne Morris). Long story short: After Bill arrives at Sally's place to meet Olive and is summarily dispatched, Sally offers to let him sleep over at her place, resulting in a case of the mutual irresistibles between the two. But what of Sally's former oath? And what to do, when Olive soon decides that she wants her sergeant back?
The oddly titled "Voice of the Turtle" (perhaps potential viewers would be more understanding of that title if they knew that the turtle referenced is actually a turtledove, and that the title is drawn from a line in "The Song of Solomon": "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land....") is an extremely charming film, due mainly to the sensitive performances of Parker and Reagan, both here playing characters who've been hurt before and are tentatively wondering if they might ever find happiness again. Reagan has always been undervalued as an actor, I feel (and overvalued as a prez, but don't get me started on that), and he is both charismatic and likable here. But it is Parker who easily steals this film with her endearing portrayal of the kooky Sally. And boy, is she EVER kooky! This is a woman who loves nothing more than curling up on her sofa with a nice dish of potato salad. A woman who won't leave a percolator going or a radio playing in her apartment when she is away, for fear that they might wonder where she is! She is also a woman who, when serving two glasses of milk, OJ or champagne, must sip exactingly at one of them to even up the levels of the liquids in the two vessels. Today, I suppose, Sally would be diagnosed as having a pretty severe case of OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder ("You're crazy," Page truthfully tells her), but that only makes her all the more endearing, somehow. Parker makes us really feel for the woman's plight of being pulled into another romance, despite her best intentions not to be. "Oh, that was a nice surprise," she sighs when Page first kisses her, in one of the film's sweetest moments. In short, she is absolutely adorable here.
"The Voice of the Turtle" was expertly helmed by Irving Rapper, a director more well known for having completed four films with Bette Davis ("Now, Voyager," "The Corn Is Green," "Deception" and "Another Man's Poison"), and he here elicits some wonderfully comedic and winning performances from his small cast of pros. Max Steiner has contributed a charming (there's that word again), sprightly score to complement the proceedings; another feather in the cap of the man responsible for the music in such films as "King Kong," "Gone With the Wind," "Casablanca," "Now, Voyager" and "The Searchers." The film is rarely laugh-out-loud funny but is never less than highly amusing. It is actually a fairly realistic experience, with honestly drawn characters in credible situations. The audience roots for Sally and Bill to find some happiness, and the film's ending will surely be a pleasing one for most viewers. Actually, I only had one small problem with the picture, and that is, in the opening, as I mentioned, it is Christmas season, at the beginning of a cold and rainy weekend, and a few days later, by the weekend's end, the weather has changed and it is early spring! But I guess time really CAN seem to fly, when you're falling in love again, right? This film comes more than highly recommended by yours truly...especially for those tentative individuals who are considering taking the plunge once again....
