Die Rivalin

1949

Madness of the Heart is a 1949 British drama film directed by Charles Bennett, produced by Richard Wainwright for Two Cities Films and starring Margaret Lockwood, Paul Dupuis and Kathleen Byron. The screenplay was written by Charles Bennett, adapted from the novel of the same name by Flora Sandström.[3]

Lydia Garth meets Paul de Vandiere, a French nobleman, but their romance is plagued by Lydia's complaint of recurring spells of blurred vision. Paul leaves for France, promising to return and marry Lydia, but she loses her sight while he is gone. Given no hope of recovery, she enters a convent and quickly finds that she has no vocation for life in a nunnery. She finally marries Paul, but encounters strong opposition from Verite Faimont, a neighbour who is very fond of Paul. The latter constantly plots against Lydia and is successful in temporarily breaking up the marriage, but can a miracle of restored vision be seen?

The film was based on a novel by Flora Sandström published in 1941.[4]

Charles Bennett was meant to make his directorial debut with a story about the murderous Madeleine Smith, Madeleine (1950); however he was replaced on that project by David Lean and given Madness of the Heart instead.[5] Lockwood's casting was announced in August 1948.[6]

Bennett claimed he "didn't even read" the script "until I was on my way back across the Atlantic to direct it, and then I wanted to throw up. But I had to make it. Margaret Lockwood was my star – a very good actress. And I had a fifty-five day shooting schedule. Everything was right about it except the story which was awful."[5]

The film was shot over 12 weeks in early 1949 from January in April. Filming took place at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire and on location in the south of France in Aix-en-Provence at a castle belonging to the de Sabran family.[7] Location filming was completed without the role of Lockwood's male lead being cast.[8][9] Eventually French-Canadian actor Paul Dupuis was given the role.

Lockwood reportedly wore 28 different gowns created especially for the film.[10] She also wore a borrowed diamond necklace worth £6,000.[11]

Kathleen Byron was cast on the strength of her performance in Black Narcissus. She later recalled enjoying the filming but said it was hard work:

According to Variety filming took place on schedule and under budget.[2]

The film was not given a West End premiere. This was seen as a bad sign as to the film's quality because it meant critics did not review the movie.[13][14] It was decided to premiere the film in Blackpool where Lockwood had a strong following.[15]

Nonetheless, the film was acclaimed better critically than was originally thought[16] trade papers called it a "notable box office attraction" in British cinemas in 1949.[17][18] Lockwood still managed to be voted the fifth most popular British star at the local box office for 1949.[19]

Lockwood did not make another film for 18 months.

The film was not released in the USA until October 1950.

Filmink magazine said it "isn’t a bad film – it’s a Jane Eyre/Rebecca-esque tale with some decent twists, a wonky ending and... inadequate male leads."[22]

Quelle: Wikipedia(englisch)
Kinostart:1949
1950
weitere Titel:
Madness of the Heart ast
Die Rivalin
De man die mij gegeven werd
Madness of The Heartcy
Genre:Filmdrama
Herstellungsland:Vereinigtes Königreich
Originalsprache:Englisch
Farbe:Schwarzweiß
IMDB: 243
Verleih:Universal Studio Group
Regie:Charles Bennett
Kamera:Desmond Dickinson
Schnitt:Helga Keller
Musik:Allan Gray
Darsteller:Margaret Lockwood
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Datenstand: 04.02.2023 15:48:51Uhr