Undercurrent

source: Undercurrent

Trailer—Undercurrent

Undercurrent

And, I ask you - Was Hollywood pretty-boy, Robert Taylor really one of the film industry's top male stars of the 1940's? Was he? 'Cause, believe me - If he actually was, he really needed to get over his own good looks and, like, take some serious acting lessons - Pronto! He really did.... (Hey! I ain't kidding here!) IMO - 1946's "Undercurrent" was pure Tinseltown dreck, from start to finish. This film's story has got to be one of the goofiest tales about a closeted psycho and his repressed hatred for his brother that I have ever seen. And, finally - Speaking about the forever brittle and affected actress, Katharine Hepburn - Not only did the cameraman overdo it with all of his "soft focus" close-ups of her - But, I think that the whole point of this film was just a shallow pretense in order to get Hepburn to parade around in one smart outfit after another.

"Undercurrent" features a top-notch cast of wonderful actors who might've been assembled for the perfect drawing-room comedy. Alas, they are pretty much wasted on a 'woman's view' potboiler--and a paper-thin one at that. Katharine Hepburn is indeed radiant as a tomboy/old maid who finally marries, but her husband is deeply disturbed and harboring dark family secrets. Director Vincente Minnelli has absolutely no idea how to mount this outlandish plot, concocted by Edward Chodorov from a story by Thelma Strabel, and the friendly, first-rate cast (including Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum and Edmund Gwenn) is left treading in murky waters. ** from ****

The first time I saw undercurrent, I was as disturbed as everyone else by the soporific pacing. Having just seen it for the second time, I have to say that there is much detail to enjoy. As in most Minnelli pictures, I enjoyed the awkward party scenes, in which elegant extras enjoy themselves while the principals cringe. Katharine Hepburn is in her "insecure" mode, like in Summertime, and she is very good. The role would have been more natural for, say, Jeanne Crain. Most enjoyable is Jayne Meadows, as a cold fish you can't quite figure out. She is incredibly beautiful in the ladies'lounge scene. Both her scenes with Hepbburn crackle with 1940s psychological intensity.

Upon first viewing, Undercurrent is an unexpected treat, commanding full attention for almost 2 hours. Hepburn in the role of Ann, manipulated, insecure, feeling under-dressed and overwhelmed at a social event, terrified and claustrophobic as her new husband's character is revealed, is not to be missed. As others have noted, the plot has "Rebecca-esque" qualities, but a character completely its own. Taylor's tormented Alan is also perfect, darkly ruminating and possessive, always on the edge of losing control, driven mad by his wife's interest in his hated and absent brother, and jealously afraid of losing her love. While the ending is somewhat predictable, the plot also amazes, as it progressively reveals a person not present (for example, using the rebound book of prose with the underlined Robert Louis Stevenson poem, innocently quoted by Ann, believing it to be her husband's) and destroys the covetous, deceitful and murderous Alan.

Expecting something completely different when I saw the cast-list, this movie took me by surprise. Hepburn discarding more or less her usual screen-persona holds this mystery-thriller together with a strong performance.Robert Taylor returning from service in WW II,takes another step from those pretty boy parts of his early career. Robert Mitchum,still fresh after his breakthrough, is more or less wasted in a supporting role. Clearly patterned after earlier successes like Preminger's "Laura" and Hitchcock's "Rebecca" this movie isn't quite in the same league,but it still better than most.This is another title I hope will arrive on DVD.