Tonight's Movie: Back Street (1941) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

In the last couple weeks I've watched Charles Boyer in WHEN TOMORROW COMES (1938) and Margaret Sullavan in NEXT TIME WE LOVE (1936), a pair of romantic melodramas available from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Tonight the two actors were combined starring in the Kino Lorber release of BACK STREET (1941).

BACK STREET, from Universal Pictures, was the second of three filmings of the novel by Fannie Hurst. It was previously made in 1932 with Irene Dunne and John Boles; it would later have a 1961 version starring Susan Hayward and John Gavin.

Sullavan plays Ray Smith, who works in her family's dress shop. Ray is something of a free spirit, confidently engaging in business deals with men and refusing to marry her beau Curt (Richard Carlson) because, as much as she likes him, she feels she'd be settling. Ray is looking for a grand passion or nothing.

And then Ray chances to meet Walter Saxel (Boyer), hurriedly introduced at a train station by her traveling salesman friend Ed Porter (Frank McHugh).

Ray and Walter fall for each other hard, but after a few days together it's time for Walter to leave town, and he also confesses he's engaged. Nonetheless, at the last minute he is ready to throw caution to the winds and marry Ray, but circumstances don't work out and they each move on.

Five years later Ray and Walter are unexpectedly reunited in New York City. Walter is now married to Corinne (Nella Walker) and has a young son, while Ray is a single dress designer. And once again they can't seem to stay away from each other, meaning Ray -- who initially hadn't wanted to settle -- is now a "back street" woman, waiting for the bits of time Walter has available in order to have her grand passion.

At one point, after Walter has been working in Europe for an extended time and had another child, Ray tries to break things off, intending to leave town and marry Curt. But she still can't bring herself to give up Walter, and so the years pass by with Ray continuing as Walter's back street mistress.

Walter's wife may not be aware of Ray, but his observant children (Tim Holt and Nell O'Day) have begun to notice the woman who seems to habitually be near their father, even when the family boards a ship bound for Europe.

I wanted to see this film as it was a significant title in the careers of both Sullavan and Boyer, which I first read about in one of the very earliest film books in my collection, THE GREAT ROMANTIC FILMS by Lawrence J. Quirk, published in 1974. Having carefully studied the stills from it back then, when classic films weren't accessible on demand, it was special to have the characters come to life onscreen for me at long last.

I was also interested because of the roles played by longtime favorites Carlson and Holt. I really wasn't sure what I'd think of the film overall, as this doesn't tend to be the type of story I like, but I'm glad to say that despite that I quite enjoyed the movie.

The film is beautifully acted and produced, with thoughtful direction by Robert Stevenson, who would go on to make films such as JANE EYRE (1943) and MARY POPPINS (1964). The scene where Walter and Ray are reunited on a snowy night was beautifully filmed by William H. Daniels.

The script by Bruce Manning and Felix Jackson makes some interesting choices, including only showing Walter's wife Corinne briefly from the back on a couple occasions. It's a bit of a cheat inasmuch as the woman Walter is two-timing isn't personalized, which serves to keep audience sympathy focused on the love of Walter and Ray. We do, however, begin to understand the pain Walter has caused through the impact on his dismayed children.

Sullavan's Ray is really a study in contrasts; it's hard to imagine the woman we see in the opening scenes ultimately giving up a life of her own for Walter. On one level, we could say that her somewhat rebellious spirit led her to a "nonconformist" life, but on the other hand, her spirit is pretty much squelched over the years.

I wonder just how many cads Boyer somehow made likeable by sheer force of his personality? Just as in WHEN TOMORROW COMES, he's desirable but not truly available. In WHEN TOMORROW COMES Irene Dunne's character is offered a situation similar to Ray's, but she has enough self-respect and wisdom to know that living at the "edges" of his life would ultimately be unfulfilling. Ray makes the opposite choice.

Among the supporting cast, I particularly liked McHugh's well-written character; he's excellent as a man who starts out as a jovial companion but ultimately is the only one able to tell Ray, in frank terms, what she's giving up by choosing Walter, including children of her own.

BACK STREET runs 89 minutes.The supporting cast includes Samuel S. Hinds, Peggy Stewart, Esther Dale, Frank Jenks, and Kitty O'Neil.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray is from a new 2K master. It does have a fair amount of light speckles and scratches, but on the whole is quite nice-looking, with good sound.

Blu-ray extras include the trailer, also newly mastered; a gallery of trailers for four additional films; and a commentary track by the team of Lee Gambin and Elissa Rose.

The 1961 remake with Susan Hayward is also available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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