This is one of the most sensitive films ever made, Orson Welles giving perhaps his life's most interesting performance as a war invalid surviving against his will. It involves both the world wars, the first one making him an invalid and the second one sending his son to the war. Claudette Colbert is the mother who also makes one of her greatest performances, but it's the story that carries the greatest weight. George Brent as the second husband is perfectly alright as such as well, but his character lands in the shadow of the drama - he really doesn't understand much of it but does what he has to do as an honest man.
Orson Welles is gutted in the first world war with a face that has to be remade, which is why he doesn't want to survive as he can't show himself to his newly wedded wife, who protested wildly against his going to war. His doctor persuades him to give life an chance nonetheless, and twenty years later Orson returns as an Austrian fugitive to his home town Baltimore and finds his widow well and prosperous with a new family, but her son (and his) wants to go to war.
It's a terrific drama, the whole suspense resting on how Claudette Colbert will recognize her former husband or not, and whether he will acknowledge his former identity or not. The only flaw of the case is the ending. It is kind of patched up and is the only detail not convincing, like an ordinary constructed Hollywood 'happy ending' escape from complications. Actually the story begins as the Junior goes to war - whatever will be HIS war experience? Orson is whisked away and has no more say in the matter. Anyway, it's one of the most gripping films ever made, and Orson is more unforgettable than ever.
Orson Welles is gutted in the first world war with a face that has to be remade, which is why he doesn't want to survive as he can't show himself to his newly wedded wife, who protested wildly against his going to war. His doctor persuades him to give life an chance nonetheless, and twenty years later Orson returns as an Austrian fugitive to his home town Baltimore and finds his widow well and prosperous with a new family, but her son (and his) wants to go to war.
It's a terrific drama, the whole suspense resting on how Claudette Colbert will recognize her former husband or not, and whether he will acknowledge his former identity or not. The only flaw of the case is the ending. It is kind of patched up and is the only detail not convincing, like an ordinary constructed Hollywood 'happy ending' escape from complications. Actually the story begins as the Junior goes to war - whatever will be HIS war experience? Orson is whisked away and has no more say in the matter. Anyway, it's one of the most gripping films ever made, and Orson is more unforgettable than ever.