The Lost Moment

No need to detail the plot since others have done it better than I can. Once again I'm reminded that Susan Hayward was one of Hollywood's finest actresses despite her glamorous good looks. Here she does triple duty while under the spell of an ossified aunt (an unrecognizable Moorehead) and, of course, a darkly haunted mansion. One minute she's severely repressed Tina; the next she's a deluded but happy Tina; and finally she's a liberated Tina, who's happily her true self. The versatile actress manages all three persuasively, though repressed Tina in her severe hair bun almost had me under the couch. If Tina's having trouble with her identity, so's Venable (Cummings) who's at the mansion under false pretenses. But once he's scoped out a flowing-haired Tina, he's having trouble deciding whether he's really a sneaky publisher on a lucrative mission or just another hormonally driven ankle-chaser. Sunny actor Cummings may seem an odd choice for roaming dark mansions, still he low-keys throughout, allowing the story's Gothic merits to remain uppermost. And what great atmosphere the staging produces. Sure, events never leave the soundstage, yet that move allows full artistic control of visual effects, which are as much a movie presence here as the performers themselves. And, oh yes, mustn't overlook poor Joan Loring as the repressed servant Amelia. Hers is a movingly soulful performance that at times is almost tearful. Too bad her character- track just sort of vanishes to no conclusion. And that's a downside in the script, as John Archer's rather villainous character is also abruptly abandoned for no apparent purpose. It may be that the screenplay tried to adapt too much of the Henry James novel and ended up cutting some corners All in all, this is vintage Hollywood hitting on at least seven cylinders despite somewhat derivative material. And a lot of that success I think is owed to outstanding producer Walter Wanger, a position in the production chain that's too often overlooked.

source: The Lost Moment

American publisher Robert Cummings is in Venice. He is tracking down love letters written by a long-dead poet to his lover -- played by Agnes Moorhead with a creaky voice and made up as a horrific-looking 105. He inserts himself into her household as an aspiring novelist and searches for the letters. It's not only Miss Moorhead he must deal with, but Susan Hayward, Moorhead's.... great-niece? .... who during the day is a cold piece of work, but at night puts down her hair and believes she is her aunt, and Cummings is her lover. Director Martin Gabel had never appeared in a movie before this, and never directed another. It contains the usual spooky-house look and lighting that Henry James' ponderous "The Aspern Letters", which I had to slog my weary way through in college, seems to demand, at least given the rather Gothic adaptation of the script. Apparently James had written it based on a story he had heard about about love letters that Shelley had written to Claire Clairmont -- who also had an affair with Byron, producing a daughter. Some of the casting choices seem odd nowadays; making up Agnes Moorhead as a 105-year-old woman must have required hours in makeup, and the charm of Robert Cummings is lost on me; he always seemed to be acting, so his acting as an unscrupulous publisher acting the part of an aspiring novelist seems, except for a very few moments, rather monotonous. Still, the backlot Venice on view for a minute or two, and the lushness of the production and music score add a richness to this movie that Hollywood could impart when Tinseltown was dealing with an important work.

The basis of this movie is a Henry James novella entitled THE ASPERN PAPERS. In the story, the narrator is a publisher who is trying to find a trove of love letters that were supposedly written by one of early 19th Century America's great romantic poets, Jeffrey Aspern. His search takes him to Venice, where he ingratiates himself into the household of Aspern's still living lover and her niece. He succeeds better than he expects, because the letters do exist - but to get to them he has to be nicer and nicer to the niece. Eventually he does read some of the letters, but his success is cut short - the niece is expecting the publisher is in love with her, and will marry her. This was not planned, and (reluctantly) he gives up his search. Then, a few years later, he returns after the aunt has died. The niece is still there, but realizing why he had been so interested in her she decided on her revenge (reminiscent, in it's way, to the the revenge of Catherine Sloper to Morris Townsend. in THE HEIRESS / "Washington Square"). She tells she burned all the letters. End of story. The movie expands the part of the aunt (Agnes Moorehead), making her the keeper of a grave secret. Susan Hayward properly shows the emotional problems of an attractive woman facing spinsterhood. And Bob Cummings is able to show that, for all his business interest in the literary find, he is not without a human side. Oddly enough the story was based on a true one, that is discussed by Professor Richard Altick's classic book THE SCHOLAR ADVENTURERS. The actual incident involved a cache of love and private letters of George, Lord Byron. Regretfully, they too were burned.

Not since "Green Dolphin Street" have I seen such drawn out melodrama! YUCH! If this is Henry James, I'm glad I don't read his works. The plot is so highly predictable it takes any pleasure out of that aspect of the film. Each seeming plot twist made my nausea even worse. Not even the production values can rescue this laborious waste of time. Cummings and Hayward make a valiant effort, but this is not worth the film used to make it. Agnes Moorehead could have been replaced by Norman Bates' mother and still that would not have improved things any. There is ONE good thing I can say for it... it didn't beat Citizen Kane for dramatic cinematography. Do yourself a favor... SKIP IT SKIP IT SKIP IT!

This little film is bursting with atmosphere, brooding, wistful, corrupt, overflowing with decay, betrayal and regret. A studio better known for its westerns and horror movies is here responsible for a major gem of delicacy and suggestion. What makes all this remarkable is that the screenplay is a classic example of Hollywood's idiotic dumbing-down of a major work of fiction, Henry James's novella "The Aspern Papers" (based in turn on the life of Lord Byron). To compare James's brief story with the film is so sad it's almost painful, yet the movie survives and succeeds through sensitive style and sturdy professionalism. The studio sets are evocative of a time before Venice became an international theme park, and the director's experience in radio drama provides a more finely-judged soundtrack than was the norm. If your nerve-endings are not already terminally blunted through today's cinematic overkill, this film will prove richly rewarding.

I now own this movie and can say it basically still stands up for me as an adult, with the caveat that I first saw it as a child, when it seemed wonderfully mysterious to me. Seeing it recently did not have quite the same effect, but I still enjoyed it very much. One reason is that as an adult I fell in love with Venice and found it to be the most beautiful and colorful of cities, whereas the film, though set in Venice, is dark and noirish. I am sure that has affected my appreciation of this movie. That aside, it is still an effective romantic mystery and manages not to be a tear-jerker. I loved Robert Cummings, both in movies and on TV, and this is one of his best. There was just something about those old-time actors that the new generation(s), by and large, seem to lack. I think maybe the old guys took their work more seriously and maybe the new guys are only interested in the big bucks, nose candy, fast cars, and you fill in the blanks.

'The Lost Moment' is worth watching - not too bad of a film. It's a romantic-drama (with a bit of a mystery and with a dash of thriller). I was hoping for a bit more with the ending I guess because I was left with a disappointed feeling at the end of the film. Lewis Venable (Robert Cummings) is a publisher and he is after the love letters of an early-19th-century poet, Jeffrey Ashton, to his beloved Juliana Borderau (Agnes Moorehead). Lewis pretends to be a writer and rents a room from Juliana Borderau in hopes to gain the love letters. Juliana has a niece named Tina Bordereau (Susan Hayward). Tina has a split-personality: her real self, Tina, and that of her aunt Juliana. Tina thinks she is her aunt Juliana from time to time. Lewis finds himself in a mystery surround Juliana, Tina, and the love letters of Jeffrey Ashton. I enjoyed the film - I was just disappointed with the ending because we never got a real explanation about Tina - an explanation for the split in her personality. 7/10

The Lost Moment is directed by Martin Gabel and adapted by Leonardo Bercovici from the Henry James novel, The Aspern Papers. It stars Robert Cummings, Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead and Eduardo Ciannelli. Music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Hal Mohr. Lewis Venable (Cummings) is a publisher who travels to Venice in search of love letters written by poet Jeffrey Ashton. Insinuating himself into the home of the poets lover and recipient of the letters, Juliana Bordereau (Moorehead), Venable finds himself transfixed by the strangeness of the place and its inhabitants, one of which is Juliana's off kilter niece, Tina (Hayward). A splendid slice of Gothicana done up in film noir fancy dress, The Lost Moment is hauntingly romantic and ethereal in its weirdness. It's very talky, so the impatient should be advised, but the visuals and the frequent influx of dreamy like sequences hold the attention right to the denouement. The narrative is devilish by intent, with shifting identities, sexual tensions, intrigue and hidden secrets the orders of the day. Cummings is a little awkward and his scenes with Hayward (very good in a tricky role) lacks an urgent spark, while old hands Moorehead (as a centenarian with an outstanding makeup job) and Ciannelli leave favourable marks in the smaller roles. Mohr's (The Phantom of the Opera) photography is gorgeous and bathes the pic in atmosphere, and Amfitheatrof's musical compositions are powerful in their subtleties. As for Gabel? With this being his only foray into directing, it stands as a shame he didn't venture further into the directing sphere. 7/10

New York publisher Lewis Venable (Robert Cummings) travels to Venice to acquire the lost love letters of poet Jeffrey Ashton. He rents a room from Ashton's former lover elderly Juliana Bordereau (Agnes Moorehead) and her niece Tina (Susan Hayward). They need money. One night, he finds the normally hard Tina with her hair loose and playing the piano. She seems to think that she's Juliana in love with Ashton. She doesn't remember the next morning. Juliana reveals that Tina sometimes loses herself believing Juliana as the hated maid Rosa. Robert Cummings is rather stiff and he is exceeded by Susan Hayward's stoneface acting. When her character changes, she becomes the embodiment of melodramatic romantic acting. This kind of acting make it impossible to develop chemistry for the two leads. There is some atmospherics but there is little tension. Everybody is so mannered.