Rent An Ideal Husband (1947)

Divine Oscar. - An Ideal Husband review by Steve

Maybe Alexander Korda intended a charming interpretation of Oscar Wilde's satirical play which would emphasise Cecil Beaton's elaborate costumes and Vincent Korda's chintzy set decorations in Technicolor. But that not what this actually is. This version emphasises the themes of hypocrisy and deception in upper class Victorian society. But applies to any period.

And in this context, the designs look grotesque. A tasteless expression of inner sanctimony. Hugh Williams and Diana Wynyard are a turn of the century power couple. He has a seat in the cabinet and she is... the perfect wife. When he is blackmailed by a professional adventurer (Paulette Goddard) it falls to Michael Wilding's shiftless aphorist to restore appearances.

It is Williams' performance as the mendacious MP which sets the balance of the drama. He plays the aristocrat as a villain and so poisons the whole of his class who are superficial and careless. It's tempting to suppose that Wilde, as a gay man who presumably knew people who were blackmailed for their sexuality, was showing us the real monsters.

There's a fine cast. In this period, British actors were well attuned to social comedy, but the most subtle performance is by the American Paulette Goddard as an insidious smoke bomb thrown at the perpetual tea party of the entitled wealthy. It's Oscar, so there is polished drollery and counterintuative insights. But this is also quite subversive.