In "September affair ",the real star is Italy :we are taken to a guided tour of Pompey (it was made before Rossellini 's "viaggio in Italia " starring Bergman and Sanders) , of Capri ,of Florence (so there are two David :Cotten's and Michelangelo's); what a pity it was not filmed in color :it would have been a feast for the eye,mainly the first part.
As for the story itself,it 's part soap opera ,part valid drama ; Dieterle is here on Douglas Sirk 's territory but less efficient than him in melos .The excellent cast is the main asset of a rather derivative screenplay , using hackneyed tricks (the plane crash) .Cotten is true to himself ,as good as a romantic man subject to the middle-age lust as he was the terrific wicked uncle in " shadow of a doubt" or the unfortunate deceived husband in "beyond the forest " ; Fontaine has always been the dainty heroine ,frail and coy ,but who hides a genuine strength under her angel face ("Rebecca" "suspicion" "letter from an unknown woman") ;and the French audience will be thrilled about Françoise Rosay's presence , an actress who played with the best French directors (Feyder ,Carné,Duvivier) and who played opposite both sisters (Joan in this movie, Olivia in "that lady") ;so did Cotten (see "hush hush sweet Charlotte ")
The title is well-chosen ;September is the end of Summer and indicates a new phase in someone's life ;Sinatra had an album called " September of my years" .Music plays a prominent part from Italian bel canto to American songs to classic music grand finale ;it recalls sometimes Borzage's "I've always loved you" (1946)
As for the story itself,it 's part soap opera ,part valid drama ; Dieterle is here on Douglas Sirk 's territory but less efficient than him in melos .The excellent cast is the main asset of a rather derivative screenplay , using hackneyed tricks (the plane crash) .Cotten is true to himself ,as good as a romantic man subject to the middle-age lust as he was the terrific wicked uncle in " shadow of a doubt" or the unfortunate deceived husband in "beyond the forest " ; Fontaine has always been the dainty heroine ,frail and coy ,but who hides a genuine strength under her angel face ("Rebecca" "suspicion" "letter from an unknown woman") ;and the French audience will be thrilled about Françoise Rosay's presence , an actress who played with the best French directors (Feyder ,Carné,Duvivier) and who played opposite both sisters (Joan in this movie, Olivia in "that lady") ;so did Cotten (see "hush hush sweet Charlotte ")
The title is well-chosen ;September is the end of Summer and indicates a new phase in someone's life ;Sinatra had an album called " September of my years" .Music plays a prominent part from Italian bel canto to American songs to classic music grand finale ;it recalls sometimes Borzage's "I've always loved you" (1946)