MISS SADIE THOMPSON (1932) *1/2 W. Somerset Maugham's dialogues are right on the bubble straddling hubris, pathos and insight; great acting might have pulled it off, anything less definitely wouldn't. The acting here is far from great. In fact no one's better than ok. Joan Crawford hasn't become Joan Crawford yet, and there's rare and little evidence that she's ever going to. Every once in awhile she gets going, she makes a dramatic entrance. Too bad, because Joan Crawford might have pulled it off. Questionable. Lewis Milestone does alright in the director's chair, considering the parts he has to work with, he gets the rain he works some shots to keep it from getting laughable. Of course tastes are going to differ on whether annoying and frustrating's much better than laughable. If you can past the production itself, it's easy enough to see why the great minds got so frustrated with Christianity in its aggressive/passive, hypocritical form. How did anyone put up with such....? The line about Thou Shalt Not Enjoy Yourself tells it all, much greater than any of the unnecessarily editorializing or demonstration that surrounds it.
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