It seems churlish to begin with a cavil but this print was preceded by an on-screen message that it was a 'restored' version, only to be followed by what looked like a washed-out third or fourth generation print. It may well have been Lewin's intention to shoot in dull tones in 1950 but somehow I tend to doubt it. There's an immediate nod to A Matter Of Life And Death both in the central couple - one dead, one living - and the use of Harold Warrender, a 'scientific' type who complements perfectly Roger Livesey's 'doctor' and also serves as narrator. As for the hokum that masquerades as plot the less said the better, in this case it is definitely a case of Style not Content. Gardner is so gorgeous she doesn't really need to do anything else yet by 1950 MGM had moulded her into a fairly half-decent actress and Mason was well up to handling any real acting that needed doing. On the other hand Sheila Sim demonstrates yet again why her screen career consisted of a mere ten movies, just as well she married Dickie Attenborough otherwise she may have starved to death. Dorothy Parker wrote only a handful of lyrics, notably I Wished On The Moon, but another is performed by Gardner here, How Am I To Know, and performed well. Apart from this it's the visuals and symbolism that are the main interest and in a decent print they would have been stunning.
Review of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
