This is a great drama starring Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino and Gig Young.
This is a story of two brothers, two women and a funny misunderstanding in the early 1900's of Venice.
Here is the plot summary from IMDB.com:
It is Venice, 1900, and Fenella is engaged to composer Caryl Dubrok until she hears that an unmarried woman named Gemma and child is staying with a composer named Dubrok. So the engagement is off and so is she for the mountains. There she meets and is intrigued by Sebastian, but she does not know that he is the composer that Gemma is staying with. When she learns about him, Gemma demands that she choose but Fenella cannot so Gemma and Sebastian leave to be married. They go to England to write his Ballet and Caryl and Fenella are re-engaged. But Fenella still loves the fun-loving Sebastian. Written by Tony Fontana {[email protected]}
I seen and taped this movie a year ago when it was Ida Lupino month on TCM. This was probably my favorite of her films from that month that I had not seen yet. Errol is completely charming in this. The relationship between the characters is very entertaining. This film is only available on VHS (used) but it is one film that needs to be released on DVD.
If you are an Errol or Ida fan you will really enjoy this picture and should try and track it down, or at least look for it on the TCM schedule.
It is one of kimpunkrock's Essentials-The Deep Cuts.
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cheers
kpr
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039357/
Escape me Never
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kimpunkrock
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Escape me Never
"Wars may come and wars may go but art is forever."---Leslie Howard in the 49th Parallel
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feaito
I saw this film as child and it left an everlasting impression on me. I perceived it then as an outstanding picture. I fell in love with Lupino's character. Years later, I was appalled reading the bad ratings given to this movie on the capsule reviews included in Maltin and Scheuer's Movie Guides. But then, I seldom agree with Maltin.
I learnt later that this film was a remake of a British movie starring Elisabeth Bergner, who was even nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in it.
If it were released on DVD I'd buy it for sure!
I learnt later that this film was a remake of a British movie starring Elisabeth Bergner, who was even nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in it.
If it were released on DVD I'd buy it for sure!
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moira finnie
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Hi Kim and Fernando,
As you probably know, Escape Me Never is a continuation of the "Sanger family" story begun by the British author Margaret Kennedy in The Constant Nymph (which due to copyright and inheritance issues has been kept from commercial broadcast in the U.S. for decades, though it was beautifully filmed in the '40s and discussed at length here).
Though I prefer The Constant Nymph over Escape Me Never, the aspects of 'Escape' that I enjoy most are Errol Flynn's wonderfully self-absorbed character, (who finds his twin in Eleanor Parker), character actors Albert Basserman and Ivan Thiersault's gravitas, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's beautiful score, which is almost a continuation of his lovely work in The Constant Nymph, (you can listen to samples of the lovely ballet music from Escape Me Never here and from The Constant Nymph here, if you'd like). I love Ida's work in many of her films at Warner's in the '40s, but in this one, made when she was chafing under the last days of her contract at the studio, she seemed a bit too irritable throughout the movie for me, (even though her poor character had much to be aggrieved about). For Lupino's best late Warner's work, I'd probably go with Deep Valley(1947) with a great supporting cast, (led by Fay Bainter and Henry Hull), and a character to play who changes over the course of the movie.
Margaret Kennedy's novels deal in a frank and affectionately entertaining way with the life of a musical bohemian family. Escape Me Never is based on the novel The Fool of the Family and is a companion piece with the first book, the once shocking The Constant Nymph. Both books were, I thought, quite charming and may be found in libraries and used book stores for very little money. You might enjoy them since you liked this movie too.
Btw, I have to wonder if the makers of the English and the American versions weren't asking for it from the critics by choosing the title Escape Me Never for this movie, since that lays the filmmakers open to all kinds of wiseacre remarks.
Fernando,
has the Elisabeth Bergner version of Escape Me Never made in England been released anywhere on video/dvd? A quick search seems to indicate that it doesn't exist in any readily available format. According to IMDb, the 1928 silent version of The Constant Nymph with Ivor Novello, Mabel Poulton as Tessa, Benita Hume and Elsa Lanchester in the cast has recently turned up at the National Film Theatre in London. The '33 Gaumont version with Brian Aherne doesn't seem to have been seen by anyone in some time, if it still exists.
As you probably know, Escape Me Never is a continuation of the "Sanger family" story begun by the British author Margaret Kennedy in The Constant Nymph (which due to copyright and inheritance issues has been kept from commercial broadcast in the U.S. for decades, though it was beautifully filmed in the '40s and discussed at length here).
Though I prefer The Constant Nymph over Escape Me Never, the aspects of 'Escape' that I enjoy most are Errol Flynn's wonderfully self-absorbed character, (who finds his twin in Eleanor Parker), character actors Albert Basserman and Ivan Thiersault's gravitas, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's beautiful score, which is almost a continuation of his lovely work in The Constant Nymph, (you can listen to samples of the lovely ballet music from Escape Me Never here and from The Constant Nymph here, if you'd like). I love Ida's work in many of her films at Warner's in the '40s, but in this one, made when she was chafing under the last days of her contract at the studio, she seemed a bit too irritable throughout the movie for me, (even though her poor character had much to be aggrieved about). For Lupino's best late Warner's work, I'd probably go with Deep Valley(1947) with a great supporting cast, (led by Fay Bainter and Henry Hull), and a character to play who changes over the course of the movie.
Margaret Kennedy's novels deal in a frank and affectionately entertaining way with the life of a musical bohemian family. Escape Me Never is based on the novel The Fool of the Family and is a companion piece with the first book, the once shocking The Constant Nymph. Both books were, I thought, quite charming and may be found in libraries and used book stores for very little money. You might enjoy them since you liked this movie too.
Btw, I have to wonder if the makers of the English and the American versions weren't asking for it from the critics by choosing the title Escape Me Never for this movie, since that lays the filmmakers open to all kinds of wiseacre remarks.
Fernando,
has the Elisabeth Bergner version of Escape Me Never made in England been released anywhere on video/dvd? A quick search seems to indicate that it doesn't exist in any readily available format. According to IMDb, the 1928 silent version of The Constant Nymph with Ivor Novello, Mabel Poulton as Tessa, Benita Hume and Elsa Lanchester in the cast has recently turned up at the National Film Theatre in London. The '33 Gaumont version with Brian Aherne doesn't seem to have been seen by anyone in some time, if it still exists.
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feaito
Moira,
Sadly I think that the 1935 "Escape Me Never" hasn't been released anywhere. The only time I've seen Bergner on screen has been in the 1934 "Catherine the Great"...and yes, I also have "As You Like It" (1936) on tape somewhere, but I have not got around to watching it
Miss Bergner also starred in the 1931 first version of "Ariane", later remade with Audrey Hepburn as "Love in the Afternoon" (1957) and in the 1939 version of "A Stolen Life", revamped with Bette Davis in 1946.
There's a Silent film of hers I've always wanted to see: "Nju" (1924), but I think it has not survived.
Sadly I think that the 1935 "Escape Me Never" hasn't been released anywhere. The only time I've seen Bergner on screen has been in the 1934 "Catherine the Great"...and yes, I also have "As You Like It" (1936) on tape somewhere, but I have not got around to watching it
Miss Bergner also starred in the 1931 first version of "Ariane", later remade with Audrey Hepburn as "Love in the Afternoon" (1957) and in the 1939 version of "A Stolen Life", revamped with Bette Davis in 1946.
There's a Silent film of hers I've always wanted to see: "Nju" (1924), but I think it has not survived.