Karen Duncan, a seriously ill concert pianist, enters a Swiss sanatorium where she's attracted to Dr. Tony Stanton. Ignoring his warnings about resting, she leaves for Monte Carlo with Paul ... Read allKaren Duncan, a seriously ill concert pianist, enters a Swiss sanatorium where she's attracted to Dr. Tony Stanton. Ignoring his warnings about resting, she leaves for Monte Carlo with Paul Clermont despite possibly fatal consequences.Karen Duncan, a seriously ill concert pianist, enters a Swiss sanatorium where she's attracted to Dr. Tony Stanton. Ignoring his warnings about resting, she leaves for Monte Carlo with Paul Clermont despite possibly fatal consequences.
- Restaurant Patron
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- Casino Patron
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- Casino Patron
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- Roulette Player
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- Casino Patron
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- The Florist
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- Townsman
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- Party Guest
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- Writers
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough it is never stated in the film, Karen Duncan is suffering from tuberculosis (TB). One of the earlier treatments for TB was to place the patient in a healthy environment with continuous fresh air (often in a mountain or desert location), and to ensure that he/ she had a good diet and plenty of rest. This resulted in the establishment of many sanatoriums for TB patients (similar to the one run by Stanton) all over the world, .
- GoofsWhen Stanton gives Karen an X-ray, neither he nor the nurse stand behind any radiation protection. However, in the 1940s, X-rays were not yet considered dangerous, and this technology was widely used. Shoe stores even used X-rays to measure customers' feet through the 1950s.
- Quotes
Paul Clermont: Whither thou goest, so shall I!
Karen Duncan: That would be hard for both of us.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: SWITZERLAND
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA srl, "STELLA DALLAS (Amore sublime, 1937) + ORCHIDEA BIANCA (1947)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Lolita (1997)
- SoundtracksÉtude No. 3, Un sospiro
Music by Franz Liszt
From a medical point of view it does occur to me to wonder how many modern viewers will realise from the start what's supposed to be going on! The dread opening words 'Swiss sanitarium' are no longer a universally-recognised shorthand for the unnamed spectre of tuberculosis, the cancer equivalent for sentimental sagas of the era. But it is, of course, tuberculosis requiring all those chest X-rays, mountain air, and 'stimulating diet'...
The story is skilfully constructed along the lines of a murder-mystery, lulling the viewer into security for long stretches of time, arousing sympathy and indignacy at a regime that can deprive Karen of her music as well as her liberty and her mobility. Celestine's constant light malice on the subject of Dr Tony -- jealousy or realistic view? -- stirs up additional doubt, and her role turns out to have a much greater significance than we were led to believe. Questions of truth or lies run like a twisting theme throughout the greater part of the film, keeping the audience off-balance, and making Karen's ultimate reaction of discovery easier to comprehend. (Again, though, I do wonder if modern viewers will realise that in medicine of the period, deceiving patients for their own good was no misdemeanour but more or less expected!)
By and large, I found this film much more sophisticated than one might expect from a genre piece of this nature. I've already mentioned the elements that verge unexpectedly on horror amid the sweetness, and the innocent establishment beforehand of items that will later prove significant. Celestine is not what she may appear. And Clermont, too, is not the opportunistic cad first appearances might lead us to assume.
My main problem is that it seems to turn a corner into a quite different sort of film in the last few minutes, for no very convincing reason. Given its previous record in this line, I was anticipating some kind of apocalyptic revelation right up until the final shot... and was left still hanging there, waiting, when the film proved merely to have ended. It felt like a simplistic resolution to what had previously proved a complex structure. And, I think, it turns the story into one about the heroine learning her lesson rather than one about her fierce passion for life -- and thus, for me, making her a less appealing character. Despite everything, the cruise might have been the better option...
- Igenlode Wordsmith
- Mar 26, 2005
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Erich Maria Remarque's The Other Love
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1