ianlouisiana Review of The Deep Blue Sea

The Deep Blue Sea (1955)

Post-War British repressions are explored - mildly.

[7/10 · 5 April 2008]

In the 21st century there are apparently no weak indecisive women like Hester ; women who totally subjugate themselves to men.Or if there are we never see them on the screen.Miss V.Leigh seems like a relic from the Victorian era,but in fact in the male - dominated 1950s middle - classes her character was not exactly ploughing a lonely furrow. Married to a judge,she would have spent most of her time re - arranging the doilies and making cucumber sandwiches for her husband's friends. No question of empowerment for her.Perhaps we should,in the circumstances have just a little sympathy for her,desperate to grab a little happiness and excitement with her ex - fighter pilot lover. The fact that he is,frankly,a bit of a trimmer,should merely increase that sympathy.As Freddie,Mr K.More plays against type.He has a superficial charm but there is less in him than meets the eye.Mr More was about to embark on a winning streak engendered by "Genevieve" and "Doctor in the house" and many of his fans viewed "The deep blue sea" in much the same way as Dirk Bogarde's regarded "The Doctor's Dilemma" - a temporary blip in a long and successful career. Miss Leigh lends her ethereal beauty to the role,and in an age when women were expected to be subservient,her self - effacement and naivety would have been looked on as desirable characteristics. She made so few movies that her devotees,naturally enough,trend to treasure each one.My personal preferences would be "St Martin's Lane" and "Waterloo Bridge" when her startling beauty leapt from the screen, here,in early middle age she still emits a strange innocence,as if her she can't believe what her heart is making her do. Mr E.Williams - actor/playwright/author - plays the judge as a fair and compassionate man with an understanding of human weakness.Both he and Freddie are characteristic creations of Mr Ratigan whose work was to become deeply unfashionable shortly after the release of this movie. Actors who wanted to get on the West End stage would soon have to learn to slurp their soup and eat their peas with a knife,and parts for butlers became in short supply. He may have been thought to have been biting the hands that fed him in "The deep blue sea" by depicting the theatre - going classes as immoral and clay - footed and as such a contributor to his own downfall,but the march of Osborne,Wesker,Pinter and co was inexorable. Viewed as a movie per se it is not particularly exciting,competent rather than inspired,ordinary rather than cutting edge,nobody was going to say to Mr Litvak "Tony,you're soooo rock 'n' rol1",but the essence of the play is put over well enough.Like so many works of the theatre it is best experienced in its own medium and is regularly revived quite successfully.As an example of the ouevre of the leading players it is a little out of the usual and consequently a curiosity rather than a "must-see",but if you want to see Mr More as a good old - fashioned cad this is your only chance to do so.