L'Inconnu de Monaco

From the accounts I have read about Austrian author Stefan Zweig, it's somewhat surprising that this British film would be made. ." It is based on a 1927 story by Zweig. The original title of "Affair in Monte Carlo" is the same as the novella, "24 Hours of a Woman's Life." While Zweig was apparently well-liked and read around much of Europe, and in the Untied States in the 1920s and 1930s, he got very little attention in Great Britain. So, it seemed a little odd that a British film company would make a movie based on a Zweig story.

Adding to that peculiarity is the somewhat strange situation that so few of Zweig's many novels, biographies and other books have had films made or based on them. Just two others were adapted into movie dramas in 1946 and 1948 - "Beware of Pity" inn 1946 and "Letter from an Unknown Woman" in 1948. These films have foreboding stories that have dark palls over them. And, Zweig's writing style has been viewed as not very good by a number of critics. So, the lugubrious tone of his work doesn't appeal to many readers, and doesn't adapt well to films that are liked most by audiences.

Now, the gist of this film, told in a flashback story, is about how a woman could fall in love with a man in one day. Robert Stirling is hosting people on his yacht in the Mediterranean, and relates the story that took place in Monte Carlo. The slight air of mystery is obvious, and one might guess where it will end, as I did.

The cast are all quite good - Leo Genn as Stirling, and Merle Oberon ad Richard Todd as the main characters, Linda Venning and The Young Man. But this film, with its plot and screenplay, more closely resembles a soap opera than a good drama. But for the actors giving it their best, the screenplay would sink this film entirely. Except for fans of Oberon and Todd, most viewers will probably find this film dull at best, and depressing at worst.

She was 41 when this film was made.Todd was then 33,but playing 25 becomes her toy boy.The film is set in Monte Carlo and makes full advantage of the locations.She was on the way down in her career and Todd on the way up.

This movie version of the Stefan Zweig story is worth seeing, but it has a lot of unfulfilled potential, and it could have been much more memorable. The story has been filmed several times, and indeed the novella seems ready-made for a movie. It combines an interesting setting, compulsive gambling, suicidal tendencies, a love affair, crime, and quite a bit more into a concise story that plays out in the space of just one day. At the same time, there are some challenges in making it into a movie, since much of the force of the story comes from the psychology of the characters, rather than from their actions.

The various movie versions have each chosen different ways of framing the main narrative. In this adaptation, the main story is told as a flashback by a writer played by Leo Genn, whose character also played a role in the main story itself. Genn's character is actually a little underused, and doesn't allow him to use some of his best strengths as an actor, but the character itself is a suitable choice for the narration.

The story takes place in Monte Carlo, and it includes a lot of location footage. But, at least in the public domain print (which could be the problem), the setting and scenery are never quite as striking as you would have expected them to be. Many other movies have used the same setting to more memorable effect.

The main story has Merle Oberon suitably cast as the young widow who becomes irresistibly attracted to a desperate gambler, and who tries to save him from his addiction to roulette. Oberon's rather ethereal, dreamy presence makes her character's actions seem believable. She is hindered, though, by some weak dialogue that sometimes reduces her deeper feelings to the level of clichés.

The gambler character is never fleshed out, and Richard Todd plays him in a one-dimensional fashion. To some degree, this is supposed to be the character's nature, but even a little more of a sympathetic side could have made the story more powerful. Todd, though, is also hindered by some stale dialogue, even more so than Oberon. The conversations between Oberon and Todd ought to have been the centerpiece of the movie, and with better dialogue they could easily have evoked more passion and tension.

The story itself focuses attention on the desire of a woman to change a man who really does not want to change all that much. As such, it is a thought-provoking character study, and it provides some useful ideas to think about. In this particular adaptation, the themes are all there on the surface, but they are never examined as deeply as they could have been. It is still adequate as a dramatic story, but it had the potential to be more than that.

I recognized it immediately in the opening scene, but in case you don't, Affair in Monte Carlo is the original version of Twenty-Four Hours in a Woman's Life (turned into a live television production in 1962 with Ingrid Bergman). As I'd seen that version first, I knew how the story would progress.

The main difference is the narration of the movie. In this original version, Leo Genn tells the story to a bunch of friends about how his old flame Merle Oberon fell in love with a gambler. In the remake, an elderly Ingrid Bergman tells the story of her own romance to her granddaughter. Besides that, the stories are nearly identical. Merle is a classy woman of high society who randomly chances upon a destitute gambler in Monte Carlo, Richard Todd. She senses that he's about to commit suicide, and she makes it her personal mission to save him and inspire him to live. It doesn't really feel like a 1952 drama, but instead one from the 1930s. It's very melodramatic and has hardly any depth to it, but if you love Merle, you can try it. I found it rather thin, but since it was such a short movie I figured it wouldn't hurt me to finish it.

On the colorful Riviera, lonely socialite widow Merle Oberon (as Linda Venning ) is attracted to handsome gambling addict Richard Todd. At a Monte Carlo nightclub, with platonic pal Leo Genn (as Robert Sterling), Ms. Oberon senses Mr. Todd is suicidal after losing his money at the roulette table. The older woman begins to treat the distraught Todd like a gigolo, and he succumbs to her advances. Mr. Genn, who tells the story in flashback, worries about Oberon's relationship with the younger man.

Re-titled "Affair in Monte Carlo" for US audiences, this film had great potential as a psychological drama. This is made most evident in Todd's final confrontation with Oberon, when he draws an interesting parallel between his luck and her presence. Moreover, the use of Genn as a rival for Oberon's affections comes too late. Sadly, the script gives Stefan Zweig's story short shrift. Note the version on TreeLine Film's "Hollywood Legends" is in black-and-white, robbing the picture of an obvious strength.

**** 24 Hours of a Woman's Life (9/10/52) Victor Saville ~ Merle Oberon, Richard Todd, Leo Genn, Stephen Murray