Verso l'ignoto

Several sources report that Jean Renoir, who shot some scenes and was then replaced as director, began this film. If he had completed it, it would have come between Swamp Water and This Land Is Mine. All my efforts to find out more about Renoir's contribution have been fruitless. I even tracked down Renoir's autobiography only to find that he doesn't mention it - not even in passing. Anyhow, Deanna Durbin is the daughter of a China missionary who rescues 8 orphan children (7 of them white) and brings them to the U.S. where they are about to be taken by the '40s version of Child Protective Services. So, she pretends to be the new, young bride of a shipping magnet who she believes was killed in a ship bombing. Romantic comedy complications ensue. I would recommend it mainly for Durbin fans, but also for those who would like to speculate on what it would have been if Jean Renoir has seen it through to completion.