Portrait of Clare

This originally ran for ninety-eight minutes while the DVD, which is the same version that has been televised, only runs for around eighty-six. Even allowing for the slightly faster running time of PAL transmissions it suggests that some footage has been lost. As the film was initially criticized for being on the slow side, could it have been cut soon after its first showings? Grace Arnold and Robert Adair appear halfway down the cast but I did not notice either of them. There is a rather abrupt switch from Ralph's marriage to Clare, to Ralph meeting his sudden death, and I wonder if that is where cuts were made. Whatever, we are still left with a very enjoyable though slightly low-key romantic melodrama which stands repeated viewing. Margaret Johnston is very attractive and sympathetic as Clare, and first-rate character actor Robin Bailey is memorable as the dreary and priggish Dudley Wilburn. Also notable are Mary Clare as the parvenu Lady Hingston and Marjorie Fielding as Aunt Cathie. The music of Robert Schumann is gracefully utilized throughout. Adroitly directed by Lance Comfort, yet box-office failure led this to being his last 'A' picture, which seems rather unjust.