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Ray's Devi subsequently offers a tragic view of the screwball matter, the wife on the pedestal. The socialite is deemed "sort of, well, you know, hard" by those around her, "goddess," "statue," "the golden girl," Katharine Hepburn by any other name. The scene is the eve of her wedding to a self-made dullard (John Howard), a palatial manor haunted by "the ghost of bridegroom number one" (Cary Grant). The infiltrators are the poet reduced to gossip magazine scribe (James Stewart) and the sardonic photographer (Ruth Hussey). "The privileged class enjoying its privileges," no prettier sight according to Philip Barry in his burnished recomposition of A Doll's House. Worshiping the diva and tearing her down are the twin impulses, female independence is a punishable offense so Hepburn's angular persona is dutifully sanded down for a rebooted introduction to the public. ("An understanding heart" is what eludes this otherwise perfect specimen, enough to lead a husband to drink and a father to philandering.) The luxurious bric-à-brac of the nuptial ceremony under a butler's glaring watch is indicative of the MGM production, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's tasteful supervision might account for the effacement of George Cukor's usually fleet camera. The Spanish proverb ("With the rich and mighty, always a little patience") is answered by a Latin one, "in vino varitas," a midnight swim and a rendition of "Over the Rainbow" comprise the sozzled interlude of swell and prole. "Either I'm gonna sock you or you're gonna sock me." "Shall we toss a coin?" Goosing uncle (Roland Young) and warbling sister (Virginia Weidler), toy yacht in the swimming pool and freeze-frame on the front page. "Oh, I just photograph well. I'm certainly out of focus now." Renoir (Elena et les hommes) resumes the divine muse's transformation into flesh, so does Buñuel (Viridiana). Cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg. With John Halliday, Mary Nash, and Henry Daniell. In black and white.
--- Fernando F. Croce |