Interval

OK... this flick is not THAT bad. View it for what it is. Miss Oberon is beautiful in her last film... and if you like a romantic film from the 1940s, you will certainly enjoy this one. These days, they are giving Oscars to crap that couldn't hold a candle to this picture. Her costar (who would take up with Audrey Hepburn later after Miss Oberon's death) was a little stiff in acting department but this was Merle Oberon's picture from the start to finish. If you are a fan of hers, you will love it. Just view it for what it is: a good romantic movie that you could watch with your Mom. Not a single vulgar word in it. Very, very rare these days.

Merle Oberon a quintessential movie star who was known for her exotic beauty and acting talent starred in this film set in Mexico financed by her then husband Bruno Paglai. Merle Oberon whose career was noted by fine performances in These Three, Dark Angel and most famously Wuthering Heights, and having worked with great actors such as Charles Laughton and Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando, and directors such as William Wyler, recruited Daniel Mann also famous for directing starring ladies such as Elizabeth Taylor (Butterfield 8) and Anna Magnani ( The Rose Tattoo) in Oscar winning performances. Mann was noted to be Susan Hayward's favorite director ( I'll Cry Tomorrow, Ada) and also directed another authentic glamor movie star Lana Turner in the comedy Who's Got The Action. Gavin Lambert a friend of Merle Oberon's crafted the screenplay.

Merle Oberon selected Streets of Laredo hunky actor Robert Wolders as her co star and thus resulted in the most famous aspect of this film: Merle Oberon left Paglai and had a torrid romance with Rob Wolders, 25 years her junior. The film is romantic and has scenes of Mexico that are breathtaking. No directors cut for the able and respected Mann! Merle Oberon took over the editing herself. This movie is best seen for the back story of the movie: Merle Oberon's clashes with Danniel Mann and her insistence of favorable photography to reflect her great beauty, and her love of Rob Wolders whom she married and provided care, comfort and love the last years of her fabled life.

I saw this movie back in 1975 and the only thing that I remember was when he had to choose between the two girls but said "why choose" to the delight of the girls. Since then I have been to Mexico and Central America dozens of times and have visited multiple Mayan Ruins. In fact I have done all the activities shown in this movie many times over. In this movie they show many scenes of Chichen-Itza and a few short clips of Tikal, (Guatemala), and Tulum, MX. Merle Oberon's "old age" is mentioned throughout the movie, yet she dresses just like an old woman wearing a flowing robe of sorts. Why not dress young like the rest of the Hip crowd in the movie? Watch this for the Mayan scenery and the tragic love story. Larry Anderson.

This was painful for Merle Oberon fans. It had to be unbearable to see a star of talent, beauty and grace stoop to a role unworthy of her.

The plot is blurry, the direction is blurry and her face is so blurry her stand in could have done the role. The entire production seems to be soaking in KY jelly - just like the real life relationship between the costars.

The dialogue is tiresome and droll even for the 1970s Also, I don't understand all these stories about older people becoming empowered by humping people a generation younger. Doesn't that imply the younger person is a trophy? That a partner their own age is a compromise? Talk about ageist subtext!.

This film and marriage ended up killing poor Merle six years later.

Proudly taking it's place in the "Once glamorous star, now in decline" genre is this romantic gem. Other classics of the genre include "Trog" (Joan Crawford), "The Swarm" (Olivia deHavilland), "Airport 1975" (Gloria Swanson) and "The Fan" (Lauren Bacall), "The Big Cube" (Lana Turner), "Angel, Angel Down We Go" (Jennifer Jones)and the like. In this sudsy throwback to a time when a flimsy story could scoot by on the appeal and wardrobe of it's leading lady, Oberon poured her heart, soul and money into the project. The film opens with badly photographed shots of Mexican ruins. Then we see the remains of Ms. Oberon tearing down the road in a Volkwagon bug while hip music suddenly blares on the soundtrack. She plays a woman who is at one with nature and seems eternally content, but there may be more to her than that. Norwegian actor Wolders plays a younger, bed-hopping guy in hip-huggers who finds himself intrigued by and attracted to Oberon despite their considerable age difference. Their scenes together are sometimes sincere, sometimes funny. He supplies most of the humor as he lurches around with poor posture. She gets in a few licks with her array of fuzzy close-ups and white slacks with every top she owns. Her hair is almost a third character. At waist length it is beautiful when it's up and scary when it's down. The film strives for irony and symbolism and just good old fashioned romance, but it tends to overplay it's hand. Merle spends a key scene in an impossibly glamorous and flowy lavender chiffon gown (in which she admittedly looks marvelous). One scene actually has Wolders standing up and screaming, "I'm somebody!!" followed by him running across a field into Oberon's arms!! It may as well be a Dentyne commerical! This picture put a cap on Merle's film career, but at least it gave her a fairly hunky man to spend her last years with.