There is, I feel, scholarly research required as to why so many British films of this vintage are so risible, why some - In Which We Serve, The Way To The Stars, Brief Encounter, The Fallen Idol, The Browning Version - are magnificent and a handful of others like Perfect Strangers are eight-out-of-tens in anyone's book. In the last couple of years I've watched some real dogs, Carol Reed in particular has a bad track record via Climbing High and Night Train To Munich, and never having even heard of Perfect Strangers I was prepared for the worst especially since it is being screened as part of a Deborah Kerr season at the National Film Theatre in London and I have never seen the point of Deborah Kerr despite the fact that she has appeared in some excellent films. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and I don't care who knows it. Although it centres on two adults, probably meant to be in the late twenties it is, in one respect, a bildungsroman, because during the running time these two mature, much-married people do come of age albeit it took something as traumatic as a world war to effect the transition from dull to vibrant. The original director, American Wesley Ruggles departed early by mutual agreement and was replaced by Sandy Korda who despite having his directorial name attached to some iconic titles was at best a journeyman, light years short of Puffin Asquith for example, yet here he turns in what is arguably his finest directing. Neither of the two leads test high on my list of favourite actors but I must confess that I could fault neither of them albeit the best performance by a country mile was that of Glynis Johns, ironically someone else I can take or leave. Roland Culver, alas, just doesn't do 'romantic lover', fine actor though he is and in 2010 the metaphoric element - in the aftermath of war things like cities and marriages need rebuilding in equal measure - is a tad twee it must have pushed all the right buttons in 1945. Should it appear on DVD I would have no hesitation in bagging a copy.
Review of Vacation from Marriage
