The Forbidden Street (1949)
In Victorian London, young Adelaide is born into luxury, but marries starving artist Henry. His alcoholism and their lack of money lead to many quarrels. During one such fight, Henry slips down a flight of stairs and dies. A neighbor, Mrs. Mounsey, is the only witness, and she blackmails the young widow by threatening to tell the cops that Adelaide killed her husband. Luckily, lawyer Gilbert swoops in to help Adelaide.
- Jean Negulesco
- Guy Hamilton
- Margery Sharp
- Ring Lardner, Jr.
Rating: 6.7/10 by 6 users
Alternative Title:
The Forbidden Street - US
Rua Proibida - BR
Kielletty katu - FI
Apigorevmenos dromos - GR
La strada proibita - IT
Rua Proibida - PT
Förbjudna gatan - SE
Affairs of Adelaide - US
Zabranjena ulica - YU
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 30 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: blackmail, victorian england, life in the slums
Maureen O'Hara is a young girl who lives a well-to-do existence with her family until she takes a shine to her art teacher "Lambert" (Dana Andrews). Their relationship doesn't impress her family, but they press on anyway, set up on their own before, fairly soon, she rues the day. He turns out to be a bit of a lush. When an accident befalls him, she finds herself the subject of a pernicious blackmailing from an elderly neighbour - "Mrs. Mousey" (Dame Sybil Thorndyke) and her miserable life looks pretty set. Until, that is, another man enters her life - a man who bears a startling resemblance to her husband, and... It's quite a well paced story, this. Jean Negulesco keeps the story engaging without descending into melodrama, and Thorndyke is excellent as the avaricious old woman. The production detail is fine - the costumes and scenarios are decent enough, but the score - it really is weak, seemingly determined to slow the film down. There is some chemistry between O'Hara and Andrews that makes this just a little better than a routine costume drama and worth 90 minutes.
