A fine wartime romance, and a good handling of the tragedy that must befall those who cannot control their circumstances. A very different take from the 1931 version.

The sprightly Vivian Leigh turns in one of her best performances,...
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A fine wartime romance, and a good handling of the tragedy that must befall those who cannot control their circumstances. A very different take from the 1931 version.

The sprightly Vivian Leigh turns in one of her best performances, one really believes her actions and her attempts to live with them. She naturally supplies a light English accent (not overt and helping to match Taylor), and despite the controversy at the time, it's easy to see how she won the Scarlett O'Hara role a year earlier. Robert Taylor is given more trite lines and was never a top-drawer actor - but as a lead he is well-cast here.

But it's the staging of the movie that works best, the early minutes devoted to the couple falling in love are some of the most romantic in screen history. The music is interesting as well, interweaving "Swan Lake" (Myra's life in the ballet), "I'll Get to Scotland A'Fore You" (the ancestral stodgy homestead of Cronin's), "Listen to the Mockingbird" (Myra's fall to degradation), and the well-used "Auld Lang Syne" (the sadness of love during a time of emerging crossroads).

Some things could use more explanation, the beginning of the movie is charming and the end is very sad - the middle could explore the choices Myra makes in a little more detail. The 1931 version (and the play) had none of the class struggle or "nobility" to Myra's original profession. In some ways, that pre-Code film is far more stark and realistic but lacks the romance.