Bedelia (1946)

Wissenswertes

Bedelia is a 1946 British melodrama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter and Barry K. Barnes. It was written by Vera Caspary, Herbert Victor and Isadore Goldsmith, adapted from Caspary's 1945 novel Bedelia, with events relocated from the United States to Monaco and England.

Production

The film was based on the 1945 novel by Vera Caspary, about a bachelor in his thirties called Charlie who married a widow, Bedelia, he meets at a summer resort in 1913. The New York Times said it was "guaranteed to raise gooseflesh on the hottest summer night." The Los Angeles Times called it "one of the neatest and cleverest jobs of writing this season."

The film version of Caspary's novel Laura had been a big hit in 1944 and there was much interest in Bedelia even before publication. Caspary enjoyed the film of Laura although had some reservations. "Hollywood simply can't visualise a girl who leads her own life, and in whom sex is not uppermost", said Caspary. "They always show the career woman as either frustrated or freakish.

This meant she was susceptible to approaches from British film companies as well as Hollywood. She also felt in Britain there was more respect for the writer. In late 1944 she sold the film rights to producer Isadore Goldsmith, who had impressed Caspary with The Stars Look Down, and wanted to set up the film in England. Goldsmith arranged financing through John Cornfield Productions, a unit of the Rank Organisation.

Caspary travelled to London to do an early draft of the script, which transplanted the action from Connecticut to Yorkshire.

"The movie will probably have one or two Hollywood names in it and will be an Arthur Rank release", said the Los Angeles Times. "Mr Rank is another who was wonderful to me – but then in England even the producers respect writers... England is counting on pictures to be one of her great export items."

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