I Loved You Wednesday

During the 1920s and 30s, Hollywood studios were in love with the notion of bringing in exotic women from Europe to star in films. While there were many European women in silents, the craze for more kicked into overdrive with the success of Greta Garbo....and each of the studios was looking for their next Garbo. In a few cases, they even took American women and created fake European backgrounds! But for the most part, these new Garbos never really succeeded in Hollywood*. One of these 'new Garbo' actresses was Elissa Landi, an Italian-born and British-trained actress. She was fortunate in that her native accent was very well hidden (unlike, for example Vera Ralston, Lili Damita, and Annabella), though her English accent with a touch of Italian was odd...and she never made a huge impact in the States. One of her nearly three dozen films was "I Loved You Wednesday".

When the story begins, Randall (Victor Jory) and Vicki (Landi) are students living together in Paris. He's an architect studying his craft and she's a ballerina. They seem quite happy together, though he has a secret...he has a wife back in the States. And, when the wife decides to head to Paris, Randall breaks it to Vicki that he's married.

Not surprisingly, Landi is heartbroken and leaves Paris. She runs off to South America and while there, she meets a civil engineer, Philip (Warner Baxter). But she has to return to the stage and he needs to return to America to work on Boulder Dam (later renamed Hoover Dam). During their separation, their love lingers and soon they are reunited in New York...and life looks grand.

Into this seemingly ideal situation arrives Randall. He's back and is still obviously interested in Vicki...while Vicki is clearly undecided. But it becomes very awkward when you learn that Philip knows Randall's wife! Complicated? Of course....and where all this leads you will have to find out for yourself.

This film clearly has pre-code sensibilities, with the couple living together. While this isn't explicitly stated, you understand that this is being strongly implied. But the sparks are quite muted despite this. Much of this is because the film seems to try harder to be sophisticated than scandalous....which I think, in hindsight, is a bit of a mistake. It took a juicy plot and made it a bit less so. Also, I was not thrilled with Warner Baxter (who I usually love in films, though his character is pretty stiff and pathetic here) nor Landi (her accent was odd since she was supposed to be an American). Jory, on the other hand, played cads and heavies well and he is more memorable in this film. As for the film itself, it just seemed to lack energy and emotion....with sophistication replacing sparks. Watchable and a decent time-passer but not much more.

*A huge exception to the curse of the 'new Garbos' was Hedy Lamarr. While never quite as famous as Garbo, she did have a long and solid career in Hollywood.