Sometimes an actor established in a particular type of movie is rewarded with an Oscar for changing his or her pace, say, by tackling an entirely new genre or even looking different. Among the most famous examples are David Niven's ageing fraud/pervert in SEPARATE TABLES (1958) and John Wayne's initial appearance as Marshal "Rooster" Cogburn in the original version of TRUE GRIT (1969), but no less discussed (that is, for not being entirely deserving of the accolade!) is Ginger Rogers' dramatic turn here as a "white-collar" girl.
The film received a total of five nominations, the others being in the following categories: Best Picture, Direction, Screenplay (in the name of Dalton Trumbo, despite Donald Ogden Stewart's credit for "Additional Dialogue" – ironically, the award went to the latter regardless...for his sterling work on THE PHILADELPHIA STORY!) and Sound Recording. Having mentioned Stewart's double duty that year, as I lay watching this, I could not help noticing that several participants had more than one title in the Oscar race: director Wood also helmed OUR TOWN, Rogers herself appeared in PRIMROSE PATH, Eduardo Ciannelli (memorable here as the staunchly Republican owner of a speakeasy, which then has to go legit when Prohibition is repealed by the Democrats!) was featured in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, while Gladys Cooper and Florence Bates were both among the supporting cast of REBECCA (the eventual Best Picture winner)!
Anyway, it appears that the film-makers did not want to take any chances and, so as to not to allow the leading lady to be upstaged by her male counterparts (yes, this is the typical 'girl torn between two lovers' narrative), they chose two relatively new faces – namely Dennis Morgan (who at one point spoofs Ronald Colman i.e. Rogers' co-star in her previous movie, LUCKY PARTNERS {1940}!) and James Craig – to whom the epithet "nondescript" would seem to apply quite nicely! That is not to say that the film is without interest and, truth be told, it is not even as histrionic as I had been anticipating: indeed, it displays an admirable light touch every so often – especially during the 'women's emancipation' prologue and the fact that tale is told in flashback, with Rogers's mirrored reflection counselling her true self (surely the movie's most striking and imaginative touch). The actress is also seen at 15 years of age (for the record, she would again adopt this not-very- convincing childish countenance through much of Billy Wilder's THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR {1942}), while her would-be fiery Irish heritage is exemplified by repeated utterances of the expletive-substitute "Judas Priest"!
Following the break-up of her celebrated musical teaming with Fred Astaire, Rogers' solo (albeit only intermittently dramatic) career kept on flourishing for the next few years – encompassing such classics as Garson Kanin's BACHELOR MOTHER (1939) and TOM, DICK AND HARRY (1941), William A. Wellman's ROXIE HART (1942), Mitchell Leisen's LADY IN THE DARK and William Dieterle's I'LL BE SEEING YOU (both 1944) – before it went on an inevitable decline.
The film received a total of five nominations, the others being in the following categories: Best Picture, Direction, Screenplay (in the name of Dalton Trumbo, despite Donald Ogden Stewart's credit for "Additional Dialogue" – ironically, the award went to the latter regardless...for his sterling work on THE PHILADELPHIA STORY!) and Sound Recording. Having mentioned Stewart's double duty that year, as I lay watching this, I could not help noticing that several participants had more than one title in the Oscar race: director Wood also helmed OUR TOWN, Rogers herself appeared in PRIMROSE PATH, Eduardo Ciannelli (memorable here as the staunchly Republican owner of a speakeasy, which then has to go legit when Prohibition is repealed by the Democrats!) was featured in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, while Gladys Cooper and Florence Bates were both among the supporting cast of REBECCA (the eventual Best Picture winner)!
Anyway, it appears that the film-makers did not want to take any chances and, so as to not to allow the leading lady to be upstaged by her male counterparts (yes, this is the typical 'girl torn between two lovers' narrative), they chose two relatively new faces – namely Dennis Morgan (who at one point spoofs Ronald Colman i.e. Rogers' co-star in her previous movie, LUCKY PARTNERS {1940}!) and James Craig – to whom the epithet "nondescript" would seem to apply quite nicely! That is not to say that the film is without interest and, truth be told, it is not even as histrionic as I had been anticipating: indeed, it displays an admirable light touch every so often – especially during the 'women's emancipation' prologue and the fact that tale is told in flashback, with Rogers's mirrored reflection counselling her true self (surely the movie's most striking and imaginative touch). The actress is also seen at 15 years of age (for the record, she would again adopt this not-very- convincing childish countenance through much of Billy Wilder's THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR {1942}), while her would-be fiery Irish heritage is exemplified by repeated utterances of the expletive-substitute "Judas Priest"!
Following the break-up of her celebrated musical teaming with Fred Astaire, Rogers' solo (albeit only intermittently dramatic) career kept on flourishing for the next few years – encompassing such classics as Garson Kanin's BACHELOR MOTHER (1939) and TOM, DICK AND HARRY (1941), William A. Wellman's ROXIE HART (1942), Mitchell Leisen's LADY IN THE DARK and William Dieterle's I'LL BE SEEING YOU (both 1944) – before it went on an inevitable decline.