Monday, Aug. 09, 1943

Also Showing

The Constant Nymph (Warner) is a little hoary at the temples. It was in vogue 19 years ago, has been twice filmed. But Margaret Kennedy's pathetic story about an adolescent girl's unrequited love for a middle-aging, married composer still exhales a tender, wistful charm.

This time Joan Fontaine is Tessa, the nubile nymph doomed to love in vain (in Switzerland and England) for 105 cineminutes, and to expire of excess happiness and a heart attack inside of one. Charles Boyer is egocentric Composer Dodd, who does not notice that little Tessa is growing up and in love with him. Alexis Smith is his icy socialite wife, who does notice.

As a child, Joan Fontaine is a little matronly. But her scenes are memorable in proportion to their painfulness. As death approaches in the Dodds' luxurious London mansion, Cinemactress Fontaine achieves some first-rate emotional acting. So does Charles Boyer. Boyer's chief dramatic assets are commonly believed to be his spaniel eyes and the veins in his temples. The flat fact is that romantic Cinemactor Boyer has forgotten more tricks of acting--or just standing still--than many of his colleagues will ever learn.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.