I first discovered Ronald Colman - or rather, more specifically, his voice and the wonderful ways that he used it - some six decades ago when I saw him as Sidney Carton in *A Tale of Two Cities*. Since then, I have enjoyed him - if not necessarily the movies he appeared in - often. (*Kismet*, for example, is a real disappointment, though he in it is not.)
So, I was eager to see him in this, his Academy Award-winning role. And to see how he would play scenes from *Othello*.
Better I should have gone to bed early.
Setting completely aside the issue of a white actor playing Othello in blackface - which I can do easily because I'm not Black - I confess that I was mostly disappointed in his performance on stage as Othello. The voice didn't have the force and presence I wanted, it was not commanding where Othello needs to be great.
This was especially true, for me, in the long excerpt from Act V that we see early in the movie, part of the opening night performance.
Later, sometimes, I found more of what I wanted.
The TCM host, Ben Mankiewiecz, said that the scenes from the play were filmed not in the order they appear in the movie, but rather in the order they appear in the play. That may be, but I hope it's not true, because I consoled myself with the idea that Colman - and no doubt the director, George Cukor - wanted to show a progression in Johns' acting as he did the play over and over through the production's 300+ nights. I found the last time we see Othello's death scene to be more powerful than the first time, much earlier in the picture.
As for the rest of the picture, I found it average at best. Its depiction of mental illness, though perhaps up to date for its time, was out of date and rather aggravating in 2024. I found NO chemistry between Colman and his leading lady, making it hard to believe the two characters still loved each other.
So I would pass on this movie, and see no reason to watch it again in the future.
So, I was eager to see him in this, his Academy Award-winning role. And to see how he would play scenes from *Othello*.
Better I should have gone to bed early.
Setting completely aside the issue of a white actor playing Othello in blackface - which I can do easily because I'm not Black - I confess that I was mostly disappointed in his performance on stage as Othello. The voice didn't have the force and presence I wanted, it was not commanding where Othello needs to be great.
This was especially true, for me, in the long excerpt from Act V that we see early in the movie, part of the opening night performance.
Later, sometimes, I found more of what I wanted.
The TCM host, Ben Mankiewiecz, said that the scenes from the play were filmed not in the order they appear in the movie, but rather in the order they appear in the play. That may be, but I hope it's not true, because I consoled myself with the idea that Colman - and no doubt the director, George Cukor - wanted to show a progression in Johns' acting as he did the play over and over through the production's 300+ nights. I found the last time we see Othello's death scene to be more powerful than the first time, much earlier in the picture.
As for the rest of the picture, I found it average at best. Its depiction of mental illness, though perhaps up to date for its time, was out of date and rather aggravating in 2024. I found NO chemistry between Colman and his leading lady, making it hard to believe the two characters still loved each other.
So I would pass on this movie, and see no reason to watch it again in the future.