K: The Unknown

'K the Unknown' is a faithful adaptation of a novel simply titled 'K', by Mary Roberts Rinehart ... who is now remembered only for her spooky-house thriller 'The Bat'. The heroine of 'K' is Sidney Page (Virginia Valli, very pretty in her stylish bobbed hair and nurse's uniform). Sidney lives in her mother's small-town boarding-house while working as a nurse to Doctor Wilson, a playboy who's supposed to be a brilliant surgeon. (Then why is his surgery in such a small town?)

A couple of the local louts, skinny George and fat Joe, are always fighting each other over Sidney, but she doesn't much fancy either one of them. The local Mrs Grundy types are perpetually gossiping over Sidney, speculating that she's having an affair with Dr Wilson. (He's too busy having affairs with every other attractive woman in town.) There's some blatant symbolism when a shot of the gossiping women dissolves into a shot of some geese, then back again. (This idea was done better in 'The Music Man', with clucking hens.)

Along comes a handsome mysterious stranger, known only as 'K'. When he moves into Sidney's mother's boarding-house, the local gossip ramps up a notch. Soon, 'K' is teaching Sidney how to paddle his canoe. 'K' is clearly a Man with a Secret ... but, guess what? When you find out what it is, you won't give a damn. In fact, I stopped giving a damn a lot sooner. I'll rate this movie 2 points out of 10. I only kept watching because Rinehart was once considered a major novelist.