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Monday, July 12, 2010

Private Life Of Don Juan (1934)

A rather static comedy, directed by Alexander Korda, which is too bad considering the premise is very enticing. An aging and in poor health Don Juan (Douglas Fairbanks in his swan song) longs for anonymity and rest. When a young lothario impersonating Don Juan is killed in a duel, he uses it to his advantage to gain the solace he’s seeking, even attending “his“ own funeral. But in death, the legend of Don Juan grows even bigger than before and he finds that he dislikes being a nobody. A couple of scenes crackle and hint at what might have been with a wittier script, like Fairbanks encounter with a barmaid (Binnie Barnes) but the film is surprisingly inert. But Oliver Messel’s costumes are quite handsome and Vincent Korda’s soundstage Seville is stylish and there’s a lively score by Ernest Toch. With Merle Oberon, Melville Cooper, Benita Hume and Abraham Sofaer.

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