Ne dites jamais adieu

While melodrama has been very variable in film and television history, with a mix of very moving and sometimes tense and also too soapy and over-heated in the case of others. Rock Hudson was always a likeable actor, especially in romantic comedies, and George Sanders has always been a favourite of mine since his voice work in 'The Jungle Book'. Being one of the best at that time at being cads and villains and possessors of one of the most distinctive and beautiful speaking voices in film.

'Never Say Goodbye' was something of an uneven film to me. There are a fair share of good things, including one particularly great performance, but also an equal fair share of shortcomings, including most of the traps melodramas have fallen in a number of times. 'Never Say Goodbye' is a long way from a bad film, there are far worse films out there including this type of film. It is also a long way from great and too much of a mixed bag for me to consider it particularly good.

The best aspects are the production values and the acting. The film still looks very handsome and ravishingly shot in Technicolor, while uncredited Douglas Sirk's contribution is skillful enough. The music is haunting and not too overwrought. Some of the film is poignant, especially the more tragic elements of the story.

Of the performances, Sanders comes off best, have always found it interesting when actors that specialises in a certain type of role go against type and pull it off equally as well as their usual roles. Sanders' character is a far cry from his caddish and villainous roles that he was known for, he has seldom been more sympathetic (even in 'Call Me Madam', another atypical role that he did beautifully) and noble and it comes off beautifully. Cornell Borchers (an unfamiliar name) also comes off beautifully and is very touching. Shelley Fabares is affecting as the daughter. Hudson's performance is uneven, much of it being down to how his character is written, but when his character isn't a jerk he is charming and dashing.

However, there are things that don't come off particularly well. When made to behave like a jerk, Hudson didn't seem comfortable with it and was out of his depth and the character's jealousy doesn't seethe. At times it seemed too melodramatic, at other points it was too reserved. The chemistry between him and Borchers varied as well, it was charming to begin with but loses its sparkle and becomes bland later on (was also rooting for her character to leave him). The direction fares similarly, Sirk's contribution shows how he was one of the few directors to play to Hudson's strengths and understand them whereas Jerry Hopper's direction was undistinguished with little of the hold no barrels approach that the film would have benefitted from.

Furthermore, the script manages to be both over-heated and under-nourished, lots of soap and syrup overdose but no substance underneath. The story becomes too excessively melodramatic and over-heated, as well as lacking in passion and rather dully paced. The characters became a lot less easy to care for and why Borchers' character would find any appeal in him later didn't come over as realistic.

Summarising, very mixed feelings here. 5/10.

Please, does anyone knows where this movie can be found? To either buy or rent! Please advise and thank you in advance.

A wonderful family movie...yes with drama! I liked it very much and thought it was well put together. With the war surrounded this couple and the jealousy of Rock made the wife a bit uncomfortable. However he seemed to have loved her very much and was very concern for her safety after she was missing and wanted to take her with him to the States especially since she was his wife and the mother of his very young daughter. It was hurtful for all 3 of them with her missing for so many years.

How can I get to watch this movie again? It has been quite a number of many years and I just cannot find it to purchase and not in rental stores either. Can someone please advice on this? Much thanks

This is a beautiful color film which many might classify as a '"woman's picture". However, it has three very fine performances by Rock Hudson, George Sanders and Cornell Borchers, very good supporting actors and a moving storyline told from the point of view of the male participant. So it is a romance, a dramatic film, and a frankly superior "tear-jerker" all rolled into one. The storyline is fairly straightforward. Michael Parker, a doctor, married a German girl and lost her during WWII, having to go on while thinking she is dead. She reenters his life in the US with an old friend as escort, one who blames him for what she had to suffer. She wants to get back together with Parker, but first has to win over his daughter who idolizes the mother she has never known; finally, the escort, an artist, draws the little girl a picture of her mother, and seeing it, the little girl learns who is her real mother accepts her joyfully. The film was written from a Luigi Pirandello play, and the final version of the screenplay was done by Charles Hoffman. The cast is an unusually good one. Directed by Jerry Hopper, it also features Ray Collins, David Janssen, Casey Adams, Jerry Paris, John Banner, Robert F. Simon, Helen Wallace, Frank Wilcox and many others. The remarkable fact of the production is the realism of its motivations and reactions; it is never glossy, never cheap, often very moving. Shelley Fabares as the stubborn little girl is quite good also. But lovely Cornell Borchers and suave George Sanders are the best actors in this solid film. The technical production is very good, for any era. Sets by Russell A Gausman and Julia Heron, music by Frank Skinner, Bill Thomas's costumes and hairstyles by Joan St. Oegger plus makeup by Bud Westmore insured that this was to be an expensive-looking ad beautiful finished product. This is an appealing story, which qualifies as a wartime film also, one partly told in interesting flashbacks; it has never been appreciated for what it avoided becoming nor for what it was made to be--a very fine story about people whose lives were torn asunder by war...

Although widely acknowledged that parts of "Never Say Goodbye" were directed by Douglas Sirk, the credit is given to Jerry Hopper with no mention of Sirk at all. Filmographies of Sirk's work most often do not include this work.

"Never Say Goodbye" has many of the hallmarks of Sirk's work, though is much lacking in the biting social criticism that elevated his finest work. Like "Interlude" this is pure melodrama, filmed with style but ultimately forgettable.

Rock Hudson and George Sanders turn in predictably solid performances but it is Cornell Borchers an Ingrid Bergman Greta Garbo hybrid, who manages to bring a sense of truth to the more than unlikely drama, which is essential for the melodrama's success.

While obviously not in the class of the major Sirk melodrama's there is enough here of interest to followers of his work.

Undistinctive but enjoyable tearjerker: American doctor loves/loses/finds Vienna nightclub entertainer. The skillful screenplay mixes motherhood, medicine and the Iron Curtain, plus manages a few provocative digs at American male behavior. Rock Hudson and George Sanders give appealing performances. In the central role, German actress Cornell Borchers looks like Ingrid Bergman but lacks her warmth. A rich supporting cast includes a bit by Clint Eastwood . Old-fashioned, but done with some dignity.