Men Are Not Gods

Men Are Not Gods is a film along the same lines as Ronald Colman's classic Oscar winner A Double Life, an actor who starts really getting into the part of Othello. This production from Alexander Korda is not anywhere near as good as A Double Life.

Miriam Hopkins who works with Rex Harrison at a London newspaper is persuaded by Gertrude Lawrence wife of Sebastian Shaw who are a British version of the Lunts to change the critic's review of her husband's Othello to a rave. Of course that gets her fired and rightly so, but she becomes a fan, the incarnation of the theater going public as Shaw puts it. He starts falling for her, but Lawrence is still very much in the picture.

Starting out as a comedy, Men Are Not Gods should have stayed that way. But the switch to drama is jarring and not really well prepared by the writers. When Colman did A Double Life the whole idea was to show how seriously he prepared for his roles, so much so that they took over his life. Shaw's ready to kill Lawrence for what, a quick roll in the hay with Hopkins?

Rex Harrison has very little to do here, but stand around and alternate between calf eyes at Hopkins and witticisms to the world. The film really made little use of his talents.

See Men Are Not Gods and you'll long for Ronald Colman.