by Republic Pictures
Sales Rank: 8446
Price: $9.98
This is a rare imaginative film, though not at all like the original story by Henry James. It is also a rare dramatic performance by Bob Cummings who is mostly known for his roles in romantic comedies. Agnes Moorehead is wonderful as the ancient, mysterious Juliana and Susan Hayward gives a great performance as the mentally unstable niece whose fantasies verge on madness. <br />I highly recommend this one.
Viewer Reviews Based on Henry James "The Aspern Papers", Robert Cummings head for Italy in search of the greatest poetic love letters every written to the mysterious Julianna (Agnes Moorehead made up as a very old woman). This pseudo-mystery is filled with images of light and dark in the murky old villa where Moorehead lives with her emotionless staid niece Susan Hayward who transforms magically at night into the beautiful Julianna. Hayward is almost childlike in her unworldlyness in both roles. She is in fact a dual personality. And when she begins to loosen up with the help of Cummings, things start going all wrong. Hayward's fantasy world is shattered. And she is also the best thing in this movie. In one scene where she is standing by the window and starts to unpin her hair is a marvel to watch as she changes to the lost and loving younger Julianna. The letters are found but at a tragic price.
This is a great classic movie that belongs on DVD. It has elements of mystery, schizophrenia, it's atmospheric (something that is lost in the movies being made today) and most of all, Hayward's magnificent performance.
If you can only get the VHS, by all means purchase it. It's a keeper.
