The fate of Irene Forsyte
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The fate of Irene Forsyte |
| Original title | That Forsyte Woman |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1949 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Compton Bennett |
| script |
Jan Lustig , Ivan Tors , James B. Williams , Arthur Wimperis |
| production | Leon Gordon |
| music | Bronislau caper |
| camera | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| cut | Fredrick Y. Smith |
| occupation | |
| |
The fate of Irene Forsyte (Original title: That Forsyte Woman ) is an American film drama with Errol Flynn and Greer Garson from 1949. The novel Ein rich Mann ( A Man of Property , 1906) from the Forsyte- Saga of John Galsworthy .
action
On a foggy night in 1887, Irene Forsyte rushes to a London hospital to be with Philip Bosinney, who has been run over by a carriage. He succumbs to his injuries shortly afterwards, whereupon Irene tries to comfort his fiancée June Forsyte. But June blames Irene for Bosinney's sudden death and refuses to hear Irene's attempts to explain. June's father, Jolyon Forsyte Jr., who is also the cousin of Irene's rich husband Soames Forsyte, sees the situation in a different light and recalls how Irene was introduced to his snobbish family seven years earlier:
On the evening of the 80th birthday of the head of the family, Jolyon Forsyte Sr., his nephew Soames announces that he intends to marry Irene. The Forsytes are against the connection, however, because Irene as a simple piano teacher does not meet her requirements. The only person who sympathizes with Irene is Jolyon Jr., an artist and the black sheep of the family who is not allowed to visit his daughter June. Irene soon realizes that her relationship with Soames is doomed to fail. When she tries to break the engagement, Soames refuses to comply with Irene's request and instead buys a large house as a new home for the two of them.
Irene accepts her fate as Soames' wife, whose emotional coldness makes her increasingly unhappy. In the meantime, the Forsytes are beginning to accept her as a full family member. June, with whom Irene became friends, one day is accompanied by Irene as a chaperone on a rendezvous with her newest admirer, Philip Bosinney. Bosinney, a young aspiring architect , is instantly drawn to the more mature Irene. Over time, Irene also falls in love with Bosinney. Meanwhile, Soames tries to save his marriage by buying a small country estate and, at June's insistence, hiring Bosinney of all people to build a suitable house there.
In the period that followed, Soames became more and more impatient, even angry, in view of Bosinney's costly delays in planning and building the house. However, he still has no inkling of the mutual affection between his wife and Bosinney. Although Irene rejects Bosinney's advances and explains that she will not leave her husband, June gradually becomes suspicious and is finally convinced that Bosinney is in love with another woman. When June confided to Irene that she would take her own life if Bosinney was found to be unfaithful to her, Irene pleaded with him not to tell June that he was no longer in love with her. Bosinney promises Irene on the condition that she visits him in his studio to say goodbye .
Just before the two of them meet there, June enters the studio and finds a drawing of Irene's face with a romantic dedication by Bosinney. Devastated and confused about her discovery, she runs away and shortly afterwards sends Soames a letter that reveals his wife's affair. When Irene returns home from her secret visit to Bosinney, she finds her husband in a great rage. In the inevitable argument, Irene admits her love for Bosinney. Soames slaps her on the face and vows that he will ruin Bosinney. Soames then summons his rival to his home to confront the prospect of a lawsuit in court. Bosinney storms away angrily and falls under the wheels of a carriage as he hastily crosses the street. After learning of the accident, Irene rushes to Bosinney's hospital.
Jolyon finally ends his memories of the events that led to Bosinney's tragic death. After Irene has left Soames for good, Jolyon invites her to Paris to start a new life together. Years pass before Irene, who is now happily married to Jolyon, sees Soames again when he tries in vain to buy a portrait of his former wife in Jolyon's Paris gallery. Irene feels sorry for Soames and has the picture sent to him as a present in London.
background
The Fate of Irene Forsyte is the first film adaptation of John Galsworthy's successful Forsyte saga , which is mainly based on A Rich Man , the first part of the novel trilogy. MGM had acquired the film rights in 1937 for $ 32,188. Various producers, including David O. Selznick , intended to film the material over the course of several years . But it wasn't until 1948 that MGM had an acceptable script, with the title specifically tailored to the female main character and thus to the leading actress Greer Garson.
Greer Garson, who was certain for the title role from the start, appeared in front of the camera for the sixth time with her screen partner Walter Pidgeon , who ultimately was eight times . Pidgeon only had a supporting role as Jolyon Forsyte Jr., but since this role wins Garson's heart in the end, the expectations of the audience should be met. Originally, Errol Flynn, who was loaned to MGM by Warner Brothers for this production, was supposed to take on the role of Philip Bosinney. However, he was determined to play the arrogant Soames Forsyte to escape the image of the romantic hero, and ultimately prevailed. Robert Young subsequently received the role of Bosinney. C. Aubrey Smith was originally intended to play the role of Jolyon Forsyte Sr., but an illness that preceded his death prevented him from appearing in the film. Harry Davenport then slipped into the same role . It would be his last. He died in 1949 at the age of 83 after 77 years as an active actor. In a small supporting role, Garson's mother Nina Garson also appeared under the stage name Nina Ross as a member of the Forsyte clan.
The press in particular was excited about the first meeting of MGM's “nice lady” and Warner's “bad boy”. However, Garson and Flynn got along so well during filming that they played pranks on each other on the set. In one scene, Flynn hid in a closet from which Garson was supposed to take a robe. When she opened the closet door, Flynn suddenly jumped out and Garson passed out in shock. On another occasion, when the two of them were about to play a scene in a carriage, Garson gave her colleague a small slap over an electrical wire connected to Flynn's seat.
The Fate of Irene Forsyte premiered in the United States on November 3, 1949 . The reviews were rather mixed. The film premiere in Germany took place on November 24, 1951. On January 25, 1969, the film was shown by ZDF for the first time on German television. It was broadcast on GDR television on October 6, 1985 on DFF 1 .
Reviews
According to the lexicon of international films , The Fate of Irene Forsyte offers an "atmospherically dense description of a decadent upper-class society". In 1951, Der Spiegel found that Greer Garson's red hair enlivened "a painstakingly dramatized film version of John Galsworthy's posh family epic". Errol Flynn disappoints his followers as Soames, but he turns out to be a "bad loser as a good actor".
Variety spoke of "an elaborate and first-class film adaptation of John Galsworthy's tales of the Forsytes". Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said Greer Garson games "glamorous" but the script was "full of lifeless rhetoric" and directed by Compton Bennett "absurd". Walter Pidgeon disappoints "probably the least of the cast, mainly because he has little to do until shortly before the end". Errol Flynn seems "very stiff and high priestly", while Robert Young as Bosinney is "just boring".
Craig Butler of the All Movie Guide pointed out that the film had to simplify "a lot of the plot and characterization" so that it was often a bit too melodramatic. Greer Garson has "the spirit and the class that her role demands, but she mostly seems to feel out of place." Errol Flynn was “cast against his image” and made “a good impression”, but “his strong presence and attraction” brought the film “off balance”. Robert Young and Walter Pidgeon are again "not strong enough to provide the necessary balance". Nevertheless, all actors have "their big moments". In addition, "the lush production" catches the eye, especially "the beautiful costumes by Valles and Walter Plunkett". In retrospect, the film critic Leonard Maltin described the film as a “rather superficial adaptation” that was “nice to look at” but “by no means” came close to the BBC series The Forsyte Saga .
Awards
At the 1951 Academy Awards , the film was nominated in the Best Costume Design / Color category. However, the two costume designers Walter Plunkett and Arlington Valles could not prevail against Edith Head , Dorothy Jeakins , Eloise Jensson , Gile Steele and Gwen Wakeling , who together won the Oscar for the costumes in Samson and Delilah .
German version
The German dubbed version was created in 1951 in MGM's synchronization studio in Berlin .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Soames Forsyte | Errol Flynn | Wolfgang Lukschy |
| Irene Forsyte | Greer Garson | Tilly Lauenstein |
| Jolyon Forsyte | Walter Pidgeon | Siegfried Schürenberg |
| Philip Bosinney | Robert Young | Paul Edwin Roth |
| Julia Forsyte | Janet Leigh | Margot Leonard |
Web links
- That Forsyte Woman in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- That Forsyte Woman at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- Pictures of the film on cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Michael Troyan: A Rose for Mrs. Miniver. The Life of Greer Garson . The University Press of Kentucky, 1999, pp. 215-219.
- ↑ The Fate of Irene Forsyte. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ See New in Germany . In: Der Spiegel , December 26, 1951.
- ^ "Metro has fashioned a long, elaborate and costly class feature out of John Galsworthy's writings about the Forsytes." See That Forsyte Woman . In: Variety , 1950.
- ↑ "[Miss Garson] puts on the glamor act, yes, but the script is a lot of lifeless rhetoric and the direction by Compton Bennett is absurd. [...] Mr. Pidgeon [...] is perhaps the least depressing of the lot, mainly because he has little to do until he steps in toward the end. But Errol Flynn […] is laughably rigid and pontifical and Robert Young as the suitor, Bosinney, is just plain dull. " Bosley Crowther : 'That Forsyte Woman,' Based on Galsworthy Story, New Bill at Radio City Music Hall . In: The New York Times , November 11, 1949.
- ↑ “The movie has to simplify a great deal of the plot and characterizations, and so much of it comes across a bit too soapy or melodramatic. [...] Greer Garson has all of the class and spirit required for the role, but she seems a bit ill-at-ease at times. Cast against type, Errol Flynn comes off very well, but his innate strength and appeal subtly throws things off balance, and Robert Young and Walter Pidgeon are not strong enough to put things back on an even keel. Still, the performers all have good moments, and the lavish production is eye-catching, with special praise for Valles and Walter Plunkett's beautiful costumes. " Craig Butler, cf. omovie.com
- ↑ “Rather superficial adaptation of John Galsworthy novel […]; good-looking, but no match for the later BBC-TV series The Forsyte Saga . " Leonard Maltin : Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2006 . Signet 2005, p. 1297.
- ↑ cf. synchrondatenbank.de