The Constant Nymph (1943)

 So, this was a bizarre little film.

Charles Boyer once again shines a pianist/composer, Lewis Dodd, who is struggling to become successful in his art. However, he's a kind-hearted musician this time and has friends all over European, including the poor farmers, the Sangers, who have three daughters, one of whom is Tessa (Joan Fontaine) who utterly adores him. It is unclear of Tessa's exact, which is a huge bone of contention for me. While Lewis has talent as a composer, he lacks inspiration and that's where Tessa comes in. With her around, he's inspired to create beautiful music. 

Then, after Tessa's father dies, her uncle comes along to rescue the family financially and brings his beloved only child, the spoiled Florence (Alexis Smith) along. Like Tessa, she falls in love with Lewis and they quickly marry. However, it is far from a happy union as he is somewhat of a recluse and she wants to show him off so they clash instantly and Florence gets horribly jealous (perhaps rightly so) of Tessa though Tessa refuses to act upon her feelings. Whether that's because of the Hays Code or her own morals (I suspect the latter) remains unclear. 

The film ends sadly though Lewis has finally achieved the success he's so longed for, but at a terrible price, Tessa's heart defect finally catches up to her and she dies, trying to let Florence win. 

Overall, the film wasn't bad though the DVD was lacking subtitles which meant that I probably missed several lines of dialogue. And though the plot line is rather problematic, namely because we don't know Tessa's age (though she's sent briefly to a boarding school so that should give you some idea), it had a good baseline and the acting was completely solid, which is a relief after yesterday's feature. And Fontaine was great, which is good as she was Oscar-nominated for this performance and manages to be convincing as a teenager, playing a waif for the third time in her twenties. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-The supporting cast was solid and included Brenda Marshall, Peter Lorre, Charles Coburn and Dame May Whitty.

-It is unclear if Tessa's mother is actually dead.

-It is also unclear how Lewis and Tessa's father actually met, but its clear that they have a history. 

-Based on a book, I wonder how similar this was to the source material.