Indiscreet
by Stanley Donen
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cary Grant, Cecil Parker, David Kossoff, Ingrid Bergman, Phyllis CalvertDirector: Stanley Donen
Brand: LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-09-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Republic Pictures
Movie Reviews of Indiscreet
Movie Review: "You know, nothing makes a man feel more ridiculous than being sentimental when a woman is not!"
Summary: 5 Stars
"Indiscreet" is one of those rare instances, a successful film make from a poorly received Broadway play. Originally called "Kind Sir" it played during the 1953-54 theatrical season and starred Mary Martin and Charles Boyer in the roles played on screen by Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant. The run was a scant 165 performances on the strength of its star power, particularly Mary Martin's in her first role after "South Pacific". Author Norman Krasna apparently learned his lesson in adapting his play to the screen, the bubbles were back in the champagne and it was one of the box office hits of 1958.
The story is as lightweight and fragile as a meringue shell, but just as satisfying, thanks to the star wattage of Bergman and Grant. An acclaimed actress of the London stage Anna Kalman (Bergman) seems to have it all, talent, health, beauty, fame and fortune except there is no man currently in her life, and any she meets doesn't pique her interest. Enter dashing, debonair Phillip Adams (Grant) a wealthy financier and diplomat, chance brings them together and there is an immediate spark between them. However, there is a glitch; Adams is married, long separated, but cannot divorce his wife. He is honest enough to tell an already infatuated Anna the truth right away; while not pleased with the situation, she pragmatically decides to accept it. So, eyes wide open, both plunge happily and wholeheartedly into a passionate love affair. She stars in a hit West End play, he commutes from his NATO position in Paris to join her weekends in London, renting a flat in the same building as hers. However this golden, halcyon interval is threatened when Phillip has to take a critical NATO job in New York for five months. Anna is very blue until an unexpected revelation the night before Phillip's departure causes her to have an abrupt change of mood.
Stanley Donnen who both produced and directed "Indiscreet" put an emphasis on a glossy high style and sophistication. The settings in and around fashionable London are eye catching, particularly Anna's spacious, elegantly decorated rooftop apartment by set designer Don Ashton, both stars are impeccably dressed and are immaculately groomed. For its time (1958), "Indiscreet" was probably considered a trifle daring and adult, although never mentioned it's very clear that Anna and Phillip are lovers in every sense of the word. Donnen uses an ingenious, guileful touch to get that point across just in case the viewer needed clarification. As their romance blossoms, he uses a split screen showing Anna and Phillip chatting to each other on the phone in their separate residences side by side in bed. They, the pillows, blankets and mattresses are lined up to match perfectly so that at first glance it looks like they're sharing the same bed, very titillating, and it got through the Production Code!
What can be said about Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant? Well, they are true stars in every sense of the word, incandescent, brilliant, luminous, scintillating, coruscating, glittering, blazing and any other adjectives Roget's Thesaurus can supply. The legendary, devastating Grant charm is there throughout to enrapture every woman and make every man envious. At fifty-four he remains in great physical shape and he demonstrates how nimble and supple he is when he improvises a good-humored jig on the dance floor. This was a welcome change of pace for Ingrid Bergman, she'd just made a spectacular Hollywood comeback in "Anastasia" winning the Oscar for a highly charged dramatic role, and before that she'd had 6 years of rather somber black and white art films in Italy for her husband director Roberto Rossellini. Here she has a chance to show her all too rarely seen comic side, to flirt and play the coquette which she hadn't done since "Saratoga Truck" over thirteen years before. Bergman is delicious, her innate radiance dazzling, lovely to look at, statuesque and glamorous in her chic gowns, and sexy to boot! True, the stars don't stretch their acting muscles they way they did in their more famous earlier teaming "Notorious'', but so what? At this stage in their careers neither had anything to prove. It's a treat to see the two of them paired together again, the strong chemistry is there and they do not disappoint!
Although Bergman and Grant carry the film, there are four supporting parts, both married couples. Phyllis Calvert and Cecil Parker play Anna's sister and brother- in-law, Margaret and Alfred Munson. Ms. Calvert is ludicrous casting as Ms. Bergman's sister, they don't resemble each other one jot, her British accent clashes with Ms. Bergman's Swedish one, and I found the character very irritating, not sure if that was Ms. Calvert's fault or Mr. Krasna's. Mr. Parker is good within the limits of the part as are Megs Jenkins and David Kossoff as Anna's household couple Doris and Carl Banks.
There's not a single extra with the DVD, not even the trailer. No matter, snuggle up with your spouse or significant other and a treat or two say one of those meringue shells filled with fresh berries or chocolate mousse and enjoy this charmer!
Summary of Indiscreet
Romance is in the air when a dashing diplomat (Cary Grant) is introduced to a beautiful and famous actress (Ingrid Bergman). The fact that he's married doesn't stop the loves truck pair from falling into a passionate affair. But it turns out that the actress isn't the only one with a talent for role-playing -- her married lover is actually a single playboy with no intentions of settling down. When his secret is revealed she decides to give her Romeo a taste of his own medicine and discovers it's just what the love doctor ordered.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 Minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSIC Rating: NR UPC: 017153120479 Manufacturer No: 12047Christian Dior really ought to be considered one of the stars of Indiscreet, director Stanley Donen's consummately glamorous, altogether grown-up love story. The magnificent 1950s "New Look" gowns Dior designed for Ingrid Bergman, herself at the peak of sophistication and loveliness, are a high point of the film's chic, cosmopolitan mise en scène. Bergman plays Anne Kalman, a celebrated actress who's "the envy of everyone who knows her," yet is bored and lonely. Then she meets suave diplomat Philip Adams (Cary Grant), her match in every way: looks, charm, elegance--the works. The electricity is palpable between them and neither makes any attempt to hide that fact. When Anne learns that Philip is an expert on international finance, she's bold enough to crack: "I'm crazy about hard currency."
It's the very maturity of the romance between Anne and Philip that makes this movie so exhilarating, so romantic, and so affecting. When people fall in love at "a certain age" it's much more poignant; much more is at stake. (The film has a truly surprising plot twist, which throws everything into chaos.) The two "sadder but wiser" stars Bergman and Grant had certainly seen their share of love and heartbreak by this time in their lives, and it shows. (Grant was on the third of his five marriages; Bergman's career had already survived the scandal of her adulterous affair with Roberto Rossellini.) It's fascinating to watch them both, knowing what we know of their personal lives: to see Bergman's Anne throw caution to the wind to commit an "indiscretion" with a married man; to observe Grant/Philip's distinct ambivalence about the institution of marriage. It's a case of picture-perfect casting. --Laura Mirsky
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