The Man in Grey was such a success it sparked off a whole cycle of period melodramas, of which this was first (or, rather, second). Phyllis Calvert, James Mason and Stewart Granger are back, with Jean Kent stepping in for the Margaret Lockwood part. (Although she doesn’t share top billing with the three stars – that honour goes to Wilfred Lawson.) It also has a better director than others in the cycle – Anthony Asquith – who handles it all with skill, verve, and lots of whip pans.
Calvert is at her best playing a pretty, innocent thing who is shocked, put upon and indignant – which is what her role is here. She’s very cute as she goes through various travails – realising her father runs a brothel, seeing her father killed by James Mason, finding out he wasn’t really her father, meeting Real Dad (a rich dude), falling in love with rich dude’s secretary, losing dad to suicide (to protect the family name because his wife wanted to marry James Mason), having Granger’s sister abuse her because of her lineage, seeing her racy best friend (Jean Kent) become Mason’s mistress.
This was Kent’s breakthrough part, which she probably got because the role was too small for Margaret Lockwood (this is really a Calvert starring vehicle). She doesn’t have Lockwood’s charisma or beauty, but is she pretty and game – she wet on to carve herself out a nice niche playing sexy girls (libidinous more than out-and-out villainous) in these sort of movies.
Granger isn’t given much to do except look handsome, romantic and concerned, which he does very well. Mason is excellent, always looking his on his way to or has just come back from an orgy, seething vice and avarice, creating mischief. (He has a great moment where this woman asks him if he’s ever loved her and he simply says “no”.) He’s at the height of her powers – so too is Calvert, in her different way. Her telling off of Granger’s sister at the end is probably the highlight of her career.
It throws in everything but the kitchen sink – illegitimacy, brothels, shonky Lords, tormented MPs, stage stars, French revues, loveable loyal servants who buy a small pub ith their savings, bitch snobby sisters (Granger’s sister is as much of a villain as Mason), duels, feisty French doctors. There’s even an open ending where we’re not sure if Granger will survive his wound.
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