The Constant Nymph (1943 film)

The Constant Nymph

1943 film
Directed by Edmund Goulding
Produced by Henry Blanke
Hal B. Wallis
Written by Margaret Kennedy (novel and play)
Basil Dean (play)
Kathryn Scola
Starring Joan Fontaine
Charles Boyer
Alexis Smith
Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Cinematography Tony Gaudio
Edited by David Weisbart
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • June 23, 1943
Running time
112 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Constant Nymph is a 1943 romantic drama film starring Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith, Brenda Marshall, Charles Coburn, May Whitty, and Peter Lorre.[1] It was adapted by Kathryn Scola from the Margaret Kennedy novel and play by Kennedy and Basil Dean, and directed by Edmund Goulding.

Plot

Lewis Dodd (Charles Boyer) is a composer in Brussels, but his most recent latest symphony is badly received in London. To get over the rejection, he decides to visit his old friend and fellow musician, Albert Sanger (Montagu Love), at his house in Switzerland. Lewis' arrival causes great excitement among Sanger's four daughters: Kate (Jean Muir), Toni (Brenda Marshall), Tessa (Joan Fontaine) and Paula (Joyce Reynolds).

Cast

Reception

Fontaine was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, but lost to Jennifer Jones's performance in The Song of Bernadette.[2]

Availability

The will of Margaret Kennedy stated that the film could be shown only at universities and museums after its original theatrical run ended. As a result, the film was unavailable for exhibition for nearly seventy years. The film received its first authorized public screening in decades as part of the 2011 Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival.[3][4]

Edmund Goulding's biographer Matthew Kennedy wrote that Joan Fontaine spoke "rapturously" of The Constant Nymph. "She was nominated for a best actress Oscar for it," he stated, "and it remains a personal favorite of hers."[5]

The film was released on DVD under the Warner Archive Collection label on 22 November 2011.[6]

See also

References

  1. LIFE. "Movie of the Week: The Constant Nymph" - August 2, 1943 - Page 38.
  2. "The Constant Nymph". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  3. TCM Fest: 'The Constant Nymph' (1943), a rediscovered gem
  4. TCM Classic Film Festival: 'Night Flight,' 'The Constant Nymph,' 'Hoop-La'
  5. Kennedy, Matthew (2004). Edmund Goulding’s Dark Victory: Hollywood’s Genius Bad Boy. University of Wisconsin Press.
  6. DVD Savant Review: The Constant Nymph

External links