Aesop (Turhan Bey) woos Delarai (Merle Oberon) in NIGHT IN PARADISE
One of the few genre films from the 1940s (if one disregards the popular Arabian films), it cost a lot of money to make and it bombed at the b.o.. It's not bad but I wonder what was the target audience for it. It's not like Arabian films even though, like Arabian adventures of the 40s, it's shot entirely in a studio. The film is glacially slow and it has more of an early 1930s feel to it. I like Turhan. Totally overlooked as an actor but I'm not too crazy about Merle, who looks like his mother in many scenes. It's a difficult film to figure out.
I agree this film is slow and confusing. Elaborate studio set eye candy cannot save it.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising that it failed at the box office, as did the similarly slow British "Caesar and Cleopatra" that was released about the same time (both in 1946).
Finally, I greatly welcome the return of your website.
Glad your back. I saw this movie on TCM a couple of times. and even though it was an elaborate production I thought it was rather boring. The plot? What plot.
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