Dark Waters
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Movie Reviews of Dark Waters
Movie Review: Dark Waters
Summary: 4 Stars
From the opening scenes you?re engaged. Merle Oberon is the beautiful but mentally shaken oil heiress Leslie Calvin. Leslie's mental health is fragile because she and her family had to flee their East Indies home due to a Japanese invasion during the hell that is WWII. Then the ship that she sails away on is torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat. Virtually every passenger (including Leslie's parents) is killed in this incident except Leslie and 3 other survivors. Leslie Calvin has had an incredible run of bad luck and it's going to get worst.
In a New York hospital Ms. Calvin's New York doctor (played by Batman's Alan Napier) feels that Leslie would probably recuperate a lot faster if she were to stay with family. Unfortunately the only family Leslie has now is an Aunt (played brilliantly by Fay Bainter) and Uncle whom she has never met who live down in the Louisiana bayou on a sugar plantation called Rossignol. Leslie follows her doctor's advise, which is a bad idea, as Leslie's Aunt and Uncle aren't exactly as they seem and embark on a deadly plan to get Leslie out of the way in order to claim her inheritance. Suddenly Leslie hears voices in the night, lights mysteriously flicker and her "relatives" can't stop talking about Leslie's personal tragedies, which her bayou doctor played by Franchot Tone had instructed them not to do. The cruelest scene is when her relatives take Leslie to the movies to see a war picture complete with U-boats sinking ships and death.
One of the most moving scenes is where a depressed Leslie feels that she is losing her grip on her sanity. She feels that she does not deserve the love of her doctor (who had just proposed to her) because she feels that she is going mad. She feels that she should have died like her parents and be, "under the water with my mother and father."
When Leslie begins to realize that something is amiss with her aunt and uncle she forgets her fears regarding her mental state
and becomes the answer-seeking heroine. Leslie enlists the doctor's aid and they set off to solve the mystery of Leslie's strange aunt and uncle, which leads to deadly consequences for all. At the end of the film Ms. Calvin and the doctor triumph and the good doctor ask Leslie if she all right, and Leslie lights up with the realization that she is indeed all right and she is a survivor.
Movie Review: Tense drama, fine actors
Summary: 4 Stars
This rarely seen movie is available again, and that's a greatpleasure, since Dark Waters is a minor mystery movie with beautifulMerle Oberon as a girl haunted by her own relatives. Franchot Tone acts well as her romantic interest, but Thomas Mitchell steals the show, giving a splendid performance, refreshing to see him as villain. The print (from UCLA) isn't first rate, but generally acceptable. Sound is often below par, which happens to be regrettable because of the very fine score by Miklos Rozsa. Recommended.Movie Review: Tense drama, fine actors
Summary: 4 Stars
This rarely seen movie is available again, and that's a greatpleasure, since Dark Waters is a minor mystery movie with beautifulMerle Oberon as a girl haunted by her own relatives. Franchot Tone acts well as her romantic interest, but Thomas Mitchell steals the show, giving a splendid performance, refreshing to see him as villain. The print (from UCLA) isn't first rate, but generally acceptable. Sound is often below par, which happens to be regrettable because of the very fine score by Miklos Rozsa. Recommended.Movie Review: Security
Summary: 4 Stars
Why do they put a 'security seal' along the top of the case which tears the front off the box when you try to remove it? I need a new box now
The film was very good... but of course that was made when they could still make things that worked
Movie Review: Interesting story, excellent cast, fabulous score but desperately in need of restoration work.
Summary: 3 Stars
"Dark Waters" is a 1944 film that begins with a story of survival after a horrific torpedo attack on a civilian freighter. It soon turns into a Southern Gothic tale with steamy swamps, Spanish moss, Hollywood quick sand with the consistency of oatmeal, and creepy men in tropical white suits.
To escape the war, Leslie Calvin (Merle Oberon) flees Batavia with her parents on an old merchant freighter. Soon into the voyage, the ship is sunk by enemy torpedoes. The few survivors are dying off as they spend several horrific days drifting under the relentless sun with a very small ration of drinking water. Eventually three survivors are found, rescued and taken to a New York hospital for treatment. Leslie can be treated for the physical effects of starvation and exposure, but the psychological trauma is much more difficult to get over.
After she regains consciousness, Leslie receives a warm and charming letter from her mother's sister. Aunt Emily assures Leslie that she is loved and more than welcome in at their Louisiana plantation home, Rossignol.
With no family and nowhere else to go, Leslie telegrams Aunt Emily that she has been discharged from the hospital and is taking a train to Louisiana. But when Leslie arrives at the train station there is no one to meet her. After waiting for hours under the hot sun Leslie faints. She regains consciousness in the care of local physician, Dr George Grover (Franchot Tone).
Dr. Grover, who is familiar with the headline version of Leslie's story, convinces her to allow him to drive her out to Rossignol rather than taking the first train back to New York. When they reach the plantation, Aunt Emily (Fay Bainter) seems confused. She tells them that, while Leslie is very welcome at Rossignol, her telegram never arrived and no one was expecting her. Aunt Emily and Uncle Norbert are already entertaining two house guests, Mr. Sydney (Thomas Mitchell) and Cleeve (Elisha Cook, Jr.).
The doctor leaves instructions that under no circumstances should Leslie be reminded of her recent ordeal; every effort should be made to provide diversion and entertainment. But before Dr. Grover can drive out of sight the other residents of Rossignol are speaking to Leslie about the shipwreck and interrogating her about her experience. Soon Leslie is hearing voices calling to her at night, seeing lights mysteriously turn off and back on, and questioning her very sanity.
"Dark Waters" has an interesting and unusual story. The cast is excellent. Most notable is Thomas Mitchell as a villain, unlike his better known roles as Uncle Billy in It's A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Set) (B/W & Color), or Gerald O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (Two-Disc Edition). It also features a Miklos Rozsa score.
This DVD version is a release from the UCLA film and television archive. Little preservation work is evident here. The film is grainy, dust and artifacts move across the picture like animation, the black is too dark and the white seems overexposed. But then, this isn't really a well known film, and they probably figure it doesn't rate the same treatment as Casablanca (Two-Disc Special Edition) or Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition). Fans of this film will be grateful to have it released on DVD at all.
There are no special features.
Recommended.