From the 1950s: The Story of Three Loves

1953 Romance Fantasy Drama

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by Gottfried Reinhardt

and Vincente Minnelli

Stars below

Anthology movies never gained rollicking popularity with the public which is why there weren't a great many of them.  That's not to say, however, that they are lacking in merit... far from it.  They feature a number of separate stories (in this case three) that are usually loosely linked somehow and there is a cast that is fun and popular.

I suspect this one came about at MGM because a year earlier 20th Century Fox released a popular anthology, O Henry's Full House, and in typical studio fashion, MGM didn't want Fox to outshine them.  The only connection to these three stories as I see it is they are of a romantic nature.  Otherwise they are quite different in every way.  They are titled The Jealous Lover, Mademoiselle and Equilibrium.  

If anthologies didn't gain in popularity any more than they did I suggest it's because if they're good... and let's agree that the makers want them to be just that... then audiences probably wished segments were longer... as in a regular movie.  I could have imagined all of these segments in a full movie mode.

MGM, of course, has provided great flourishes of Metrocolor and the costumes and attentions to beautiful people and the yummy set and art direction are hard to resist.     

The three stories are told in flashback as three shipboard passengers in deckchairs have cause to think of an earlier part of their lives and loves. 

The Jealous Lover

The lovely Scottish ballerina, Moira Shearer is the star of this piece.  She auditions for a ballet creator, a tough but talented man, played by James Mason, and she faints during her tryout.  He hasn't particularly been paying attention to her.

She, of course, is rushed to the hospital, with her aunt and teacher, Agnes Moorehead, holding her hand.  They are told that she has a serious heart condition and must stop dancing or she could die.  She is devastated.

Finally she ends up at the ballet that she had tried out for, sitting in the balcony, weeping.  When everyone leaves she scurries to the stage and dances, hearing the music in her head.  Mason, of course, has been watching from a darkened corner.  He is excited about how brilliant she is and asks her to dance for him at his spacious home.

Moira Shearer & James Mason

She may say no, no, no but we know she's going and if you know anything about Moira Shearer, you know what a treat this dance is going to be.  For me, it was the best thing about the entire film.  MGM composer chose Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini for Shearer to dance to.    The dance, even the story, seems a scaled-down version of her triumphant film, The Red Shoes, but so?!   

If you've never seen this segment and you like ballet at all, check it out.  See how this works out.  Watching her is worth your time.  Mason, of course, is dream casting for his role.  And Moorehead... wow, seeing her and Shearer together, two such sensational looking redheads, all coiffed and gowned by those wizards at MGM, is just such a treat.

Mademoiselle

A charming fantasy to be sure.  A bratty, rich kid (Ricky Nelson) gives his French governess (Leslie Caron) a bad time and sends her away crying.  He subsequently encounters an old woman (Ethel Barrymore) with supernatural powers.  He begs her to turn him into a grown man since being an obedient kid is more than he can stand.

Barrymore gives him a ribbon and tells him to wind it around his finger at precisely 8 p.m. and touch his finger to his temple and say her name, Harriet Pendicott, and he shall be a man until midnight.  He's disappointed it will only last four hours but he's also excited to have it happen.  At 8 p.m. he turns into Farley Granger.

Leslie Caron & Farley Granger

Granger dashes off to the museum where he as Nelson knew that Caron was going to visit.  She has no idea it's a grownup Nelson and yet there's a connection.  They magically fall in love but he tells her he will need to leave at midnight and may never see her again.  He teaches her about love and desire and happiness and patience.

Their parting is sad but it's funny watching him running back to his hotel through the rain and halfway turning again into the adorable Nelson.

The closeups of Caron and Granger, cradled in the haze of colorful MGM cameras, are a thing of beauty.  I don't think she ever looked so beautiful. 

It's been suggested the writer of Tom Hanks's Big may have been inspired by this story.

Equilibrium

In Paris a trapeze artist (Kirk Douglas) gives up his work when his partner is killed doing a dangerous stunt which he had to convince her to do.  One night as he's walking along the Seine he rescues a young woman (Pier Angeli) who has attempted suicide.  She is despondent because her husband has been killed by the Nazis during the war and she blames herself.

Douglas decides she would be perfect for the act since she not only has no fear of dying but doesn't particularly care if she lives.  While she is not easily persuaded, she does give in.

Kirk Douglas & Pier Angeli

She works very hard and becomes quite proficient as they fall in love.  On their big night where she will fly through the air and blindly bust through a big paper hoop into his hands, a circus impresario who is watching (and looking to hire them) insists that the net be taken down.  Douglas resists and Angeli says she will accommodate.  Will it work?

While they were filming, the unmarried Angeli and Douglas, in between marriages, fell in love but it did not lead to a wedding.  Sadly, in real life, Angeli would one day commit suicide.

Vincente Minnelli directed Mademoiselle while Gottfried Reinhardt directed The Jealous Lover and Equilibrium.

I've never cared for any of these individual titles.  They could have come up with something better.  I especially don't get The Jealous Lover.  Someone must explain that to me.

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In the 50s, they couldn't put it down