Summer Storm

After serving loyally 20th century-fox as support to its main leading men for some years ,and mainly Tyrone Power,Linda was given to play this first bad girl role,after having played many nice girls. She did an exceptional job with it,her girl part who uses her beauty as a weapon to get what she wants, is alarmingly realistic mainly because she looks the part,she is breathtakingly beautiful and you feel sorry for anyone who would fall in her path. Linda followed this with several other bad girls,and turned her career to a new direction. As a movie its an ok drama,i have to object they used Horton who does his usual comedic routine which doesnt really fit with the rest of the movie all other characters are strictly dramatic. Other than that the center of the movie is Darnells character,and the star pretty much shines here.

Early American Sirk film is a little slow but still interesting version of Chekov's The Shooting Party. His signature stylistic elements are not wholly in evidence yet although he uses shadows effectively and he gets excellent work from his cast particularly Edward Everett Horton playing a more complex part then usual. Linda Darnell is most impressive in the first of the bad girl roles in which she excelled. Sirk selected her personally for the film sensing more to her than the feather weight beauties she had been assigned up to that point, although she is almost supernaturally beautiful. She digs deep into Olga's conflicted nature and offers up a passionate portrait of an impulsive girl who causes damage to all that surround her including herself. Unfortunately 20th Century Fox didn't take advantage of the talent she showed and returned her for the most part to films not worthy of her.

This had to come my way by accident. I must have wanted the 2006 film of the same name, and clicked this by mistake. It's the only reason I can imagine I have it. Well, have it I do, and lets see what we have. Linda Darnell (The Mark of Zorro) was excellent as a gold-digger, and George Sanders (All About Eve) outstanding as the object of her love. Edward Everett Horton was amazingly funny as a Count who was to lose it all in the impending Russian Revolution. Lori Lahner was also a scene stealer in her only film. A tragic love story that makes me glad I got it in error.