Main Cast: Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith, Charles Coburn, Peter Lorre, Brenda Marshall
Release Year: 1943
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
Plot
Warner Bros.' The Constant Nymph was the third filmization of Margaret Dean's 1924 novel; the first two were filmed in Britain in 1928 and 1933 by producer Michael Balcon. The plot was substantially the same in all three versions: A self-centered European musician (Charles Boyer) is idolized by a young Belgian girl (Joan Fontaine) with a serious heart condition. Though he is fond of the girl, the composer opts for a wealthy marriage to her socialite cousin (Alexis Smith)--and lives to regret the move. Peter Lorre, taking a respite from villainous roles, is quite effective as a philosophical family friend. Composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold's six-minute symphonic tone poem for Constant Nymph was given class-A treatment in a specially recorded RCA Victor orchestration in 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The Constant Nymph is a good, solid adaptation of the once-famous Margaret Kennedy novel. If it falls short of being a totally memorable film, it still casts enough of a spell to make it worthwhile to seek out this hard-to-find offering. This is especially true of fans for stars Charles Boyer and Joan Fontaine, but is perhaps most true of all for fans of composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, whose score for Nymph is simply stunning. Korngold's work climaxes in a 6-minute tone poem that is simply beautiful; while it seems doubtful that the music Korngold has composed would be the kind of music Boyer's avant-garde composer would create, it is so good that one doesn't really mind. Boyer is in especially fine form. Often, Boyer let the strength of his personality carry him without concentrating too heavily on actual acting, but in Nymph he displays some impressive chops. Fontaine plays her fragile vulnerability to the hilt, with good results. Even better is Alexis Smith, who finds considerably complexity in what could have been a fairly one-dimensional portrayal. Add in fins support from Peter Lorre and Charles Coburn and sensitive direction from Edmund Goulding, and the result is a very engaging melodrama. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
