LA PAURA (FEAR)

Ingrid Bergman 

LA PAURA (aka Fear aka Non credo piu all'amore/1954). Director: Roberto Rossellini.

Irene Wagner (Ingrid Bergman), whose husband spent some time in jail, has drifted into an affair with Eric Baumann (Kurt Kreuger). Irene and her husband Alberto (Mathias Wieman) run a pharmaceutical company together and their children, who live in the country, are cared for by a nanny. Although Irene wants to break things off with Eric, she finds herself being blackmailed by an alleged old girlfriend of Eric's named Joanna (Renate Mannhardt). Then things get worse ... La Paura is an Italian "B" movie that has a lovely ending and is reasonably engaging without ever quite hitting a dramatic high note. The acting is good, with Bergman, as usual, giving a superior performance. Bergman left her husband and daughter four years earlier to be with the director of the film, Rossellini, but the scandal eventually died down after she divorced Rossellini [Voyage to Italy] three years after making this film and she came back to Hollywood. Based on a novel by Stefan Zweig.

Verdict: Has some suspense and intriguing situations, but decidedly minor. **1/2.

UNFAITHFULLY YOURS

Linda Darnell and Rex Harrison

UNFAITHFULLY YOURS (1948). Written, produced and directed by Preston Sturges.

Sir Alfred De Carter (Rex Harrison of Blithe Spirit) is a world-famous conductor married to a younger woman, Daphne (Linda Darnell). Through the manipulations of his unpleasant brother-in-law (Rudy Vallee of My Dear Secretary), Alfred becomes convinced that Daphne is carrying on with his secretary, Tony (Kurt Kreuger). As he conducts classical and operatic pieces by Rossini, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, he imagines different ways in which he can get even with the two, then finally tries to hatch one of the plots, which doesn't work out as well as it does in his fantasy. The "hero" in this actually contrives to murder his wife, but a bigger problem is the classical music background is totally at odds with what's happening on screen, which in turn has little to do with the music. The whole thing just doesn't work, and worse, is rather boring for long stretches. The cast -- including Barbara Lawrence of The Star as Vallee's sneering, belittling wife -- is quite good, but not enough to save the movie.

Verdict: Go to the opera instead. **.