I read this was a knock off of Cyrano de Bergerac and there's elements of that but really it's a reverse of Random Harvest with Jennifer Jones as the amnesiac who doesn't realise that she once loved Joseph Cotten. Cotten knows it and hangs around being her friend, with Ann Richards (who was in Random Harvest) providing the exposition and pining at Cotten.
There's other Random Harvest elements - Cotten has shellshock, though so does Jones; Cotten and Jones get married even though she doesn't realise she's his true love, Cotten doesn't tell Jones the truth, the ending results in Jones getting her memory back.
There are differences - Jones and Cotten fall in love off screen via letters, the Cyrano influence. It's not as good a movie.
I think it was a mistake not to see Cotten and Jones fall in love via letters and to build up the part of the loathsome guy who passed on the letters and was an abusive husband. He's seen at the beginning and the end... but a little more would've been ideal (or even just more evocative build up).
Richards is very good, as a decent, pretty loyal person. It's one of her better parts. She was up for the lead then was gazumped by Jones who was a bigger name. Jones is better because Jones had a whiff of insanity about her - the crazy eyes.
There's a lot of character names in the script. Anita Louise's character (Cotten's ex) is kind of pointless. The script is choppy.It's done classily though - decent budget looks nice. Cotten suits this material. Cecil Kellaway, Richards' old Aussie co star, pops up as a colourful local.
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