Rent Carrie (1952)

Quality Melodrama. - Carrie review by Steve

This is an adaptation of a Theodore Dreiser novel set  America at the turn of the Twentieth Century, but without the political bite. It follows a riches to rags story arc typical of silent and depression era melodrama. But its great director, WIlliam Wyler, elevates the material somewhere closer to tragedy.

Jennifer Jones has the title role, a country girl who moves to Chicago where she starts a disastrous affair with a middle aged man (Laurence Olivier) who steals and commits bigamy to keep her. They escape to New York where they live in poverty. Jennifer was a very beautiful woman, so it's easy to accept the obsession of the man who destroys himself for her. 

But Jones was also a limited actor and she is eclipsed by Olivier who performs wonders with a dreadful archetype, trapped in a midlife crisis and a loveless marriage, desperate for another chance. There are fascinating thematic complications with Carrie utterly dependant on mediocre men, and harmed by pointless social conventions.  

The film benefits from Wyler's intelligent direction and visual storytelling. He fills the frame with fascinating detail. It's a prestigious production with excellent sets and costumes. There's too little anger on screen (thanks to the Production Code) but it is still pessimistic about the myth of the American dream.