SEPARATE TABLES

For some unholy reason I started watching 'End of Days' (11% on Rotten Tomatoes) but after a few execrable scenes I decided to bail out and instead I went to the other extreme and watched this sedate 1958 adaptation of a stage play.

Or to be more accurate it is the adaptation of two one-act plays, written by Terence Rattigan, to be performed back to back, both set in a Bournemouth hotel, and with some of the lead actors playing a different part in each play.

Someone then had the bright idea of merging the two plays into a single screenplay for this film, although however skilfully the two stories have been interweaved they are clearly still two separate stories, just happening in parallel.    

The more compelling story features the friendship (which might become more) between Major Pollock (played by David Niven), who is not all he says he is, and the timid and repressed Sibyl  (Deborah Kerr). 

The other story features a love triangle comprising John (played by Burt Lancaster), his beautiful ex-wife (Rita Hayworth) and his current lover Mrs Cooper, who runs the hotel (Wendy Hiller).

The film takes a while to get into its stride, not helped by the addition of a young couple who are not in the stage plays and who add nothing here.

But gradually the film builds up a full head of steam.  In particular there's a scene between the Major and Sybil which is beautifully acted and is quite heart wrenching.  Their story builds to an emotionally very satisfying ending.

In the love triangle, Rita Hayworth is very good in the early scenes at portraying a vain and spoilt woman who enjoys tormenting her ex-husband.

The problem I had is that by the end we are meant to feel some sympathy for her because we are told she is ill and lonely, and therefore needs John.  Unfortunately we are told this rather than shown it by her actions or words.  As a result I felt more sympathy for Mrs Cooper who has to accept that she has lost the man she loves.

David Niven and Wendy Hiller both won Oscars.  They both give fine performances, the former especially, playing against type, so I have no problem with their wins.

But the film really belongs to Deborah Kerr who gives an amazingly good performance, even by her own very high standards.  That she didn't win an Oscar for it (and indeed for any of her other five nominations) is simply wrong, wrong, wrong.