Caravan

Dashing Stewart Granger and sneering Dennis Price love the same blonde maiden from childhood. But Granger ends up wounded with amnesia in a gypsy CARAVAN and linked to a flamenco dancing hot momma. And the blonde maiden is hooked up to dastardly Dennis. Will prim blonde maiden and dashing Stewart end up together, even though there are several countries between them, or will true love fail to triumph?

Most of the mid-40s Gainsborough Gothic romances I've seen have some slight restraint which labels them as British. Sure, there is villainy a-plenty, and firm jawed heroism from Granger and others. But, things don't really get silly. (Well, maybe in Uncle Silas, but that movie really is sui generis).

Well, here, nobody is really taking this thing seriously. Dennis Price, in particular, seems inspired by Tod Slaughter (but with one bout of demonic laughing, alas), as he marries our heroine, and then subjects her immediately to a variety of over the top indignities. The gal playing the hot blooded, flamenco dancing gypsy senorita also has amped up the hot blooded Latin thing to eleven, and is rather fun. The scriptwriter (and, I expect, the original "famous" novel) does not bother with trying to make much sense, and the film, heaven knows, may be better off for that. However, unceasing self-mockery is always a dangerous thing for a genre film, and it is a bit hard to care much about the goings on when the film's creators don't seem much invested in them.

Good for a laugh when Dennis Price is on screen, but Gainsborough did this sort of thing much better elsewhere.