Written by the legendary Somerset Maugham, the play "The Sacred Flame" seems claustrophobic throughout. Outside a few scenes set outside the home of pilot Colin Clive and Josephine Hutchinson, a good percentage takes place indoors. Rather than write the script from a screenwriter's viewpoint, this seems like 90% of it was taken directly from the script of the play including stage directions. The story focuses on the sudden accident that leaves Clive a cripple and the feelings that arise between wife Hutchinson and Clive's newly arrived brither, George Brent, a plantation owner from Brazil. Nurse Peggy Wood (best known for her Reverend mother role in "The Sound of Music") looks on quietly as her love for Clive grows and when tragedy strikes, makes accusations is that there seems to be no proof to refute.
the performances are decent and the conflict is interesting, but the direction is weak which makes this emotionally empty as the actors go through their paces and nothing much happens for periods of time. There are good supporting performances by Leo G. Carroll as Clive's doctor, C. Aubrey Smith as an old family friend and Henrietta Crossman as Clive and Brent's mother who is very supportive of her daughter-in-law.
The conflicts erupt very quickly at the end and are resolve to quickly, and that also has an impact on the film's realism.. This type of story worked better on stage, but was also the type of sob story that women audiences were listening to daily on their radio soap operas. There are also some conflicting issues with characterization, showing some of the main characters acting one way then reacting in a different way, especially through the romance that grows between Hutchinson and Brent that the audience instantly predicts but certainly isn't all that believable.
the performances are decent and the conflict is interesting, but the direction is weak which makes this emotionally empty as the actors go through their paces and nothing much happens for periods of time. There are good supporting performances by Leo G. Carroll as Clive's doctor, C. Aubrey Smith as an old family friend and Henrietta Crossman as Clive and Brent's mother who is very supportive of her daughter-in-law.
The conflicts erupt very quickly at the end and are resolve to quickly, and that also has an impact on the film's realism.. This type of story worked better on stage, but was also the type of sob story that women audiences were listening to daily on their radio soap operas. There are also some conflicting issues with characterization, showing some of the main characters acting one way then reacting in a different way, especially through the romance that grows between Hutchinson and Brent that the audience instantly predicts but certainly isn't all that believable.