Devotion (Warner Bros.) (1946)

Still No. SG 2 Mat No. 206—30c Sydney Greenstreet is one of a quartet of stars currently appearing in Warners’ "Devotion" at the Strand. Others starred in the film story of two sisters in love with the same man are Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid and Olivia de Havilland. Grandmother Thought Twice Before Dancing Six elegant girls in hoopskirts were asleep on the ballroom floor. It’s a trick that can be done, if a girl is tired enough, and the girls attending this party were exhausted. Fifteen or twenty other girls had found camp chairs and were trying uncomfortably to relax. Olivia de Havilland leaned against a thing that looked like an ironing board, up-ended, and seemed to find it comfortable. This was the middle of the day’s work in the dance scene during the filming of Warner Bros.’ “Devotion,” the Strand’s current feature that stars Olivia de Havilland, Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid and Sydney Greenstreet. There were about four more hours of dancing to do, and everybody was trying to conserve energy. The Misses de Havilland and Lupino, who are small girls and not professional dancers, could Still No. OD 1797 not lie on the floor because of their more elaborate costumes and hair-dos. Sylvia Opert, one of the girls on the floor, is a professional dancer. She opened an eye long enough to take notice and explain a few things. “In these heavy dresses! After an hour, you are tuckered out. It’s the repetition that gets you down. This is harder work than precision dancing in line.” Miss Opert said she had great respect for her maternal ancestors. “They must have been hardy women to have stood it,’? she said. “The average girl today, wearing little or nothing by comparison, has a frolic at a dance. I can see now that dancing in the old days made a girl work like-a horse. And all the time she was supposed to look ~ as immaculate as a Dresden doll.” Mat No. 202—30c Lovely Olivia de Hevilland returns to the screen on Friday when Warner Bros.’ "Devotion," a thrilling drama of love and sisterly sacrifice, opens at the Strand Theatre. Co-starred with her are Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid and Sydney Greenstreet. Warners’ ‘Devotion’ At Strand Is Moving Drama (Prepared Review) Starring four of Hollywood’s most capable dramatic players, Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid, Olivia de Havilland and Sydney Greenstreet, Warner Bros.’ newest screen drama, “Devotion,” opened last night at the Strand Theatre before an audience of first-nighters who sat enthralled throughout the entire production. The film, a swiftly paced portion of adult filmfare, is certain to find a wide audience among discriminating filmgoers. . Under the able directorial reins of Curtis Bernhardt whose recent triumph, “My Reputation,” earned him nationwide critics’ acclaim, “Devotion” tells a moving story of two beautiful and talented sisters of world renown, Charlotte and Emily Bronte (played by Olivia de Havilland and Ida Lupino respectively), and their starcrossed love for the same man (Paul Henreid), a curate in their father’s parish. Raised in a family of erratic but devoted personalities —a stern, unforgiving father (Montagu Love); a skeptical maiden aunt (Ethel Griffies); their lovely — and loving — youngest sister Anne (Nancy Coleman) ; and their brother Branwell, (Arthur Kennedy), a _ tippler, an egotist, and a genius—it is clear from the start that the sisters’ devotion to each other can well lead to unhappiness or worse. Vividly painted are the girls’ bitter months as governesses in the employ of wealthy families, their happy but shortlived sojourn in a_ Belgian academy, their kindred hopes and poorly-laid plans. With prolifie pens, both Emily and Charlotte write inspiring novels. Literary London, of the early 1830’s, welcomes Charlotte and toasts her with many gay balls and quaint teas. No less a personage than Thackeray (pla,ea by Sydney Greenstreet), squires her about in fashion. Only a few, however, recognize in Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” the greater work. The film sweeps to a dramatic conclusion as the sisters realize their every ambition except one—to know the love of Mr. Nicholls. In reviewing the performances of so capable a starring cast, only superlatives can. be used. As shy, undertanding, desperately unhappy Emily, Ida Lupino is superb. Watching her steady portrayal of a girl marked for tragedy, this reviewer was moved to realize that Miss Lupino is unquestionably one of the screen’s truly great actresses. Olivia de Havilland’s tender portrayal of her sister Charlotte, a girl who is Emily’s direct opposite, is wonderful to watch. Gay, slightly frivolous, endearing, Miss de Havilland gives a performance moving in its simplicity, one that will not soon be forgotten. Praise is also in order for the film’s two male stars, Paul Henreid and Sydney Greenstreet, for their skillful handling of equally difficult roles. Henreid’s understanding curate and Greenstreet’s portrayal of England’s beloved Thackeray, are strongly convincing and a credit to their acting skills. Supporting the principals are a company of featured players including Nancy Coleman, Arthur Kennedy, Dame May Whitty, Victor Francen, Montagu Love and Ethel Griffies. Their performances, especially those of Nancy Coleman and young Arthur Kennedy, do much to make this film one of the season’s finest. Adapted for the screen by Keith Winter from an original story by Theodore Reeves, “Devotion” was photographed by Ernie Haller, A.S.C. and produced by Robert Buckner. Sisters Love Same Man In New Warner Picture At Strand (Current Theatre Story) As a welcome relief from the more usual boy-meets-girl romance that comes out of Hollywood, Warner Bros. have ventured to produce a new and different type of screen love story that combines sound plot with skillful presentation. “Devotion,” currently playing at the Strand Theatre is that picture. Concerned with the strange triangle of two sisters who fall in love with the same man, the film boasts a topnotch cast of players headed by stars Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid, Olivia de Havilland and Sydney Greenstreet. Rarely, with the exception, perhaps, of a few musical extravaganzas, has-so much potential dramatic ability been assembled in one film. Ida Lupino and Olivia de Havilland, both actresses of uncommon beauty and no mean ability, are cast as the mutually devoted, brilliantly gifted Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte, respectively. Against the background of gilded, literary London during the early days of the nineteenth century—when Charlotte Bronte was toasted throughout its mirrored halls—and the _ bleak, wind-swept moors that housed Emily’s fiercest and tenderest dreams, the film paints a stirring picture of family love so strong it knows no limits. Reared amidst a group. of flamboyant personalities in the parish home of their father (Montagu Love), the Brontes early show an unusual family devotion and it is clear from the start that the sisters’ love for their weak and egotistical brother, Branwell (Arthur Kennedy), can lead only to tragedy. All their love, their sympathies, are equally divided between him and their writings. The arrival of a young curate, Mr. Nicholls (Paul Henreid), brings unhappiness to Emily for she realizes | that while her love for him is deep and enduring, he will never return it. Through wonderful months at an academy in Belgium where Charlotte and Emily have gone to continue their studies, and all during Charlotte’s sad little romance with a polished Frenchman, the sisters conceal from each other their love for Mr. Nicholls. “Devotion” comes to a sweeping climax as wealth and fame come to the Brontes—bringing with them misfortune and tragedy. Adapted for the screen by Keith Winter from an original story by. Theodore’ Reeves, “Devotion” also features an important supporting cast that includes Dame May Whitty, as a local society dowager; Nancy Coleman, as the youngest Bronte, lovable Anne and Victor Francen as Monsieur Heger, Charlotte’s first love. Under the direction of Curtis Bernhardt, “Devotion” was photographed by Ernie Haller, A. S. C. and scored by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The film was produced by Robert Buckner. Page Nine