I've just looked at the newly issued DVD from Ed Lorusso. He's done a fine job, as usual. The colored version, which I watched, was beautiful and the color added to the beauty of the rather soft print. Ben Model's score was also very good, adding to the moods of the movie without being intrusive. This kid looks to be a comer.
The movie, alas, while very good, is not as great as I had hoped. Ira Morgan's cinematography is great; the scenes by the shore are beautiful.
I have two main problems with the movie. There are too many titles, and they are far too elaborately written. One obvious example is when Marion has gone to Carl Miller's home and discovered his photo gallery of his his conquests. One of his cast-offs shows up and says "Sit down and steel your heart". Why couldn't she have sat, with a distressed face, and drawn Marion down to her? I know that titles are necessary, but why use one when skilled actresses can indicate the matter through pantomime? The other is that in some of the earlier one-shots of Marion, when she is supposed to be expressing emotion, she looks distinctly goofy. I lay both these issues at the feet of the director. His career faded sharply after this. He just wasn't up to the job.
Where this feature excels is at pageantry. Hearst was reputed to have overpaid on set design, decoration and costumes. He spent the money wisely on this one! Joseph Urban's set decoration is amazing and the wedding sequence is an especial treat. It's this sequence that makes this movie a superior one.... although, alas, not a great one.
