Tonight's Movie: Temptation (1946) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

TEMPTATION (1946) is part of the Dark Side of Cinema VIII collection, which was recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

Like another film in the set I recently reviewed, ENTER ARSENE LUPIN (1944), TEMPTATION was a first-time watch for me.

TEMPTATION stars Merle Oberon, who also starred in THE PRICE OF FEAR (1956) in the Dark Side of Cinema II set; personal favorite George Brent, who was in Kino Lorber's release of THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1946); and Charles Korvin, the leading man in ENTER ARSENE LUPIN.

The story is told mostly in flashback, as Oberon's Ruby confides her story to her husband's close friend -- and her nemesis -- Sir Meyer Isaacson (Paul Lukas).

A beautiful woman without a current means of support, Ruby sets her sights on Egyptologist Nigel Armine (Brent), who falls head over heels for her and quickly proposes.

Ruby heads to Egypt with Nigel, and while she appreciates his kindness and the accompanying freedom from financial worry, she's bored with her limited social life in Egypt, which mainly consists of entertaining Nigel's elderly colleagues.

While on a mission of mercy to help Yvonne (Suzanne Cloutier), the daughter of one of Nigel's friends, retrieve some embarrassing letters, Ruby meets Mahoud Baroudi (Korvin) and promptly begins an affair. She tries to break things off, yet the temptation of Baroudi is too strong. Eventually, Ruby and Baroudi begin to contemplate getting Nigel out of their way...permanently.

This "gothic noir" is strongly reminiscent of IVY (1947), which starred Joan Fontaine, with a dash of SO EVIL MY LOVE (1948) thrown in. This type of storyline, with a femme fatale wielding poison, isn't my most favorite kind of movie; it's certainly watchable, but frankly it's also unrelentingly grim.

Oberon is aptly cast as a mercenary woman who is nearing an age when she will no longer be able to use her beauty for financial gain. She convincingly portrays her lust for Baroudi alongside guilt for how she's treating Nigel, who truly loves her. I couldn't help thinking if only Ruby had found a hobby to assuage her boredom instead of using Baroudi for that purpose, she could have had a nice life with her doting husband...but then there would have been no movie.

I liked Korvin quite well as the charming thief in ENTER ARSENE LUPIN, but here his Baroudi is so contemptible, without any variance, that I can't say I enjoyed either Korvin or his character very much.

I'm a big fan of Brent but admittedly he isn't given much to do here, playing a passive and trusting character, though his mere presence did make the film more enjoyable to me. Brent is simply someone I like who adds a dash of "movie comfort" for me in any film in which he appears. (Well, THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE might be the lone exception!) 

Lukas might actually have had the most interesting role of the lead actors, playing someone looking out for his friend's interests, wherever that may take him. Ruby confiding all to the man she hates was an interesting concept. The last scene, a conversation between Lukas and Arnold Moss, playing the local police inspector, was excellent.

TEMPTATION runs 98 minutes. It was directed by Irving Pichel and filmed by Oberon's husband, Lucien Ballard. The script was written by Robert Thoeren, based on both a novel and a play; the story was previously filmed in the UK as BELLA DONNA (1934).

The Kino Lorber print is from a brand-new 2K master. Ballard's cinematography is on the dark side -- in keeping with the film's tone, and perhaps even a part of his technique to hide Oberon's facial scars? -- but the print itself is excellent, with a fine soundtrack.

Blu-ray extras consist of a commentary track by Kelly Robinson and a gallery of trailers for four additional films available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Watch for a future review of the third and final film in the set, STREET OF CHANCE (1942).

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

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