Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageFlesh and Fantasy (1943)
Director: Julien Duvivier
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Three tales of the supernatural, rather tiresomely linked by reflections on superstition from Benchley and his clubmen friends. A wonderfully atmospheric shot, with Mardi Gras revellers huddling on the riverbank, suddenly hushed as the body of a drowned girl is retrieved from the water, introduces the charming but slightly icky tale of a plain and embittered Cinderella (Field) who is given a mask of beauty to wear at the ball by a mysterious old man in a novelty shop, thereby precariously ensnaring the heart of the student prince (Cummings) who has hitherto ignored her. The second and best episode adapts Wilde's Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, with Robinson as the distraught man told by a fortune-teller (Mitchell) that he's going to commit murder, deciding to get it over with, and finding that fate is not so easily cheated. Superb throughout, the camerawork (Paul Ivano and Stanley Cortez) excels itself here. The third tale (Boyer as a tightrope walker haunted by visions of Stanwyck) is negligible, despite excellent performances.Author: TM
Cast & crew
Director: Julien Duvivier
Producer: Charles Boyer, Julien Duvivier
Cast: Charles Boyer, Edward G Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Betty Field, Robert Cummings, Thomas Mitchell, Robert Benchley full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 94 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The essential guide to the London Film Festival
Get the inside track on the all the films and events you'll want to catch at the Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival
Terence Davies: interview
Wally Hammond talks to visionary British director Terence Davies about his deeply personal and long-awaited new documentary ‘Of Time and the City’
A Bond a day: No. 10 'The Spy Who Loved Me'
Time Out revisits the 21 Bond movies day by day to celebrate the release of 'Quantum of Solace'
W.
Read our early review of Oliver Stone's George W Bush biopic, 'W.', playing at this year's London Film Festival
Ten friendly ghost movies
To celebrate the release of 'Ghost Town' in which Ricky Gervais plays a New York dentist who can see dead people, Time Out counts down ten great friendly ghost movies.
What do you think?
Post your review now