Joan Gardner and Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli are the unlikely lovers in this effective,low key British Romantic Musical Drama of the Thirties.
Quietly pretty Joan gives a very believable performance as the Secretary,travelling with her boss on an Ocean liner bound for New York. On board,she meets and is subsequently wooed,by Ship's Officer Ivan Brandt:Not the most reliable fellow on board,as his Girlfriend(Jeanne Stuart) is also a passenger!
Regardless,Joan falls for him,partially entranced by the loudspeaker recording of famous tenor Curti(Gigli) singing the pleasing "Non Ti Sordar di Me"(Do Not Forget Me). However,her shipboard romance is scuppered by a jealous Jeanne Stuart.
Back on shore,a downcast Miss Gardner is persuaded by her Employer to accompany him to a Curti performance. Her reaction is spotted by Curti from the stage,and he sends an aide to find her. Meanwhile,coincidentally,Joan has befriended his pleasant young son at the hotel where they both reside. They meet,and the Widower Curti proposes:She accepts and they marry.
However,after a year or so accompanying her new Husband and son on tour back in Europe,her ex-lover suddenly re-appears. He wants her to leave Curti and go away with him,claiming his love for her! She is torn between her erstwhile love for him,and her loyalty and devotion to her husband. Curti receives a mail saying that his wife is about to elope with Brandt,and is heartbroken when she leaves his current Concert. He believes that she has left him,and disconsolately returns to his little boy. Has she??
The closing camera shot encapsulates the reason for her final decision.
Joan Gardner is very good,giving an understated but heartfelt performance with no histrionics:Obviously down to Zoltan Korda's clever direction. And Beniamino Gigli,though not much of an actor,does convey the required anxiety and apprehension the part demands. And his singing is excellent:The title song,of course,and "O Sole Mio",plus a handful of Opera classics. Ivan Brandt, Jeanne Stuart and little Richard Gofe are more than adequate in their supporting roles. Out of interest The movie was released as "Forget-Me-Not",with hyphons! Worth watching.
