Hedy Lamarr ---a better choice

You are correct about her stunning intelligence - THAT has been brought to
light lately about her inventions. And it IS remarkable. And I do not
believe this woman was dumb. But she was NO ACTRESS. She admitted so and
critics have concurred then and now. And please don't dig up some
half-baked compliment from Robert Osborne of TCM. That fat old windbag
has to say SOMETHING nice about the stars and usually does. It's his
job and it doesn't mean twaddle. Lamarr - on her best day - would've
never been able to pull off a role as complicated as this.

I revisited this film again last night and, being aware that Merle Oberon was offered the role and had turned it down, I thought Davis was laughably miscast. The role seems tailor-made for Merle, who not only looked ravishing in Victorian and Edwardian fashions in films like THE LODGER (1944), TEMPTATION (1946), and LYDIA (1941) but also succumbed to a London car accident in 1937 (her chauffeur was the speedy, reckless type who tried to get her to a studio fitting for the eventually aborted film I, CLAUDIUS in the shortest possible time) and cosmetic poisoning combined with an allergic reaction to certain white facial makeup during the making of 'TIL WE MEET AGAIN (1940) at Warners. In other words, Merle endured a ravaged face like Fanny Skeffington although Merle, unlike the narcissistic Fanny, was known to be an extremely generous and humanitarian lady who loved kids. Even Merle's elegant and polished Mayfair accent would have fit Fanny's refined speech in the screenplay like a glove. Heck, even Young Fanny is remains a brunette all throughout the film, giving the audience further proof that Merle would have the perfect choice for the role! All throughout my viewing of the film I continued muttering, "Merle would have been perfect for this."

It's a wonder as to why Merle turned the role down: she was probably busy working on FOREVER AND A DAY, FIRST COMES COURAGE, and THE LODGER and thought that accepting another starring role in a forth film would prove a heavy burden on her already busy schedule. Plus, she probably wanted to spend some time with her first husband, Alexander Korda, and publicly support the war effort at such places like the Hollywood Canteen. Too bad Merle didn't choose MR. SKEFFINGTON over FIRST COMES COURAGE although FIRST COMES COURAGE contains an excellent performance by Merle that makes the film worth watching.

Now Hedy Lamarr would have been a bad choice, in my opinion, because her Viennese accent, however lovely and pleasant it is to my ears, would have conflicted with the image of a New York society girl. But it's a shame MGM turned down MR. SKEFFINGTON for her anyway because it would have been wonderful to see Hedy act alongside the great Claude Rains for the first time in a film. Nevertheless, I love both actresses and I have 19 Merle films and 18 Hedy films to prove it.

By the way, Merle and Claude appear together in the fine Universal Pictures romantic melodrama THIS LOVE OF OURS (1945).

"I do write my music for people, not for computers." - Dr. Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995)