 |
| Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, Aldo Ray, Russell Collins |
|
 |
Anamorphic
widescreen |
|
Dolby Digital
5.1 |
|
DTS |
|
|
Trailer(s) |
|
Featurette(s) |
|
Documentary |
|
Audio commentary
|
|
Deleted scenes
|
|
Concept art
/ storyboards |
|
Multi-angle
feature |
|
|
|
|
Mr. Davidson (José Ferrer): No, doctor. Moral standards can never be high enough. Especially here, where all of nature seems to conspire against us. Everything grows with a sort of savage violence; today you will see strange flowers where yesterday there were only roots.
The arrival of a free-spirited woman at a remote naval base in the Caribbean enrages the local missionary.
 Having
reached the height of her stardom with the success of Gilda
in 1946, Columbia screen goddess Rita Hayworth's star was already
fading when she took on the leading role in this lavishly produced,
3-D star vehicle. A grossly sanitized version of the 1932 classic
Rain, in which the young Joan Crawford played the 'wanton
woman' whose arrival at a remote naval base causes quite a stir,
Miss Sadie Thompson never quite resolves the problems its
own Hays Code morality brings forth. At first, her uninhibited personality
is portrayed as a thing of simple, innocent beauty, unfairly judged
by the sexually frustrated missionary Mr. Davidson, who campaigns
to have her removed from the island.
But as the film progresses, her character does a swift double-turn, suddenly embracing Davidson's double-standard morality by rejecting her troubled past and taking to religion. Even when the missionary's true motives are revealed towards the film's puzzling finale, Sadie remains the unconvincing poster girl for 1950s America, conforming to the demands of her smitten Neanderthal fiancé and sailing off into a suburban dream future. One can understand why Hayworth took on this part, for not only does it provide her with one her meatiest roles and give her the rare opportunity to show her true acting chops. But the film's themes are also emblematic of the one-time pin-up's true desire to abandon her image as a sex goddess in favor of a life of simple, domestic bliss. Sadie Thompson is one of her better roles, but as a film, it remains a mediocre exercise. |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Currently available on DVD only for Region 2. The Dutch release served as the basis for this review.
The fullscreen image is framed at its original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1. The film was originally shot and exhibited using the gimmicky 3D-process, which seems to have resulted in a rather blurry print with poorly defined outlines and blooming colors. The outdoor location cinematography seems overly saturated, while the interiors have a muddy, washed-out look to them. The transfer itself can hardly be faulted, as it doesn't suffer from intrusive edge haloes or major compression errors. It's apparent that this badly aged source material doesn't allow for anything better than a mediocre visual presentation.
The original mono soundtrack is presented on this release in Dolby Digital 2.0 without any major defects or distracting distortion. The lack of bass response is most evident during the occasional musical number, which tends to sound tinny and constrained. But otherwise this is a perfectly acceptable soundtrack.
Sadly, the only extras found on this disc are two promotional trailers for other Rita Hayworth films available on DVD from Columbia Tristar.The static main menu screen has a simple but stylish design that mirrors the film's original poster art.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
May 16, 2003
Click
here for IMDB info on Miss Sadie Thompson.
Click here
to return to the front page.
|
|
| |
