Of Love and Desire

The only reason to watch this film is to see the timeless beauty of Merle Oberon and Mexico. The price you pay is sitting through this horrible script and seeing the effects of years of alcohol on Steve Cochran and Curt Jergens.

This movie is bad but unfortunately without fun camp moments. It is obvious that Merle Oberon only made this film because offers were drying up. A shame since Oberon is lovely and probably didn't need the Vaseline on the lens treatment.

The film also reels of the double standard. A sexually compulsive man is no big deal but a woman with the same issue is the basis for an entire movie.

Although you have to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. It is an odd, strange, quirky film but I've seen it at least a dozen times if not more and don't tire of it. Ronald Stein's score is terrific, and there was a soundtrack album for this that was fairly faithful to the film's soundtrack. Of course there is more music in the film, but the soundtrack album is worth buying if you like this score (but it is hard to find). This was Merle Oberon's baby, she was behind the production of it and the homes seen in the film were hers.

I love these types of movies. Merle Oberon playing a middle aged nymphomaniac. Curt Jurguns is her half brother. I swear there is some underlying incest issues going on. In any case she falls in love with the Steve Cochern character. Brother doesn't like it and sets her up.

What I like about this movie other then the trashy plot is that the principles are all played by age appropriate people. We do not have a bunch of middle aged men chasing after young woman half their age. We have a middle aged John Agar and Steve Cochran playing middle aged Oberons other suitors. And the scenery is breathtaking. This is not Cukor but it is trashy enough to make it so bad it is good. And something good has to be said about a movie that actually has middle aged men lusting after a middle aged woman. How refreshing. Plus I am a big fan of Curt Jurguns.

Back in the day, when a woman reached the age of forty, she cut her hair and started wearing sensible clothing with high-cut necklines. When she reached fifty, she focused on her grandchildren and wore orthopedic shoes. She certainly didn't prance around in revealing swimsuits, wear low-cut evening gowns, and enjoy numerous lovers! Well, when Merle Oberon was fifty-two, she did all those things in the risqué drama Of Love and Desire. What a knockout!

Steve Cochran meets Merle when he gets a new engineering job in Mexico. Her brother Curd Jurgens is his boss and owner of the company, and he's pretty protective over her. Steve tries to stay away from Merle because he thinks she's just an irresponsible flirt, but over time, he goes the way of all the other men who came before him. He becomes completely enamored by her, risking his job and the wrath of Curd.

If you're a Merle Oberon fan, you're going to want to watch this movie. If you're neutral about her, you can probably skip it. Yes, it's naughty and fun at times, but it also has a darker twist that will (hopefully) make audiences feel uncomfortable.

I came to this film because of Steve Cochran. Surprisingly, it is lovely to look at, has an over the top love story, and though a bit of editing would have helped in the last half hour, It is well acted for this genre. Katherine is a middle aged woman, whose self esteem is determined by the number of men who desire her. She meets Steve and something happens--they fall in love against all odds. With a half brother whose intentions are a bit bent, you wonder if the lovers will wind up with each other or go their separate ways. Oberon and Cochran in real life did both--a RL romance that ended with the film, but a connection that caused Oberon to ask the Los Angeles police to further investigate the cause of death for Steve on his boat 2 years later.They refused but she cared enough to risk headlines for him. Life IS sometimes stranger than fiction.