Green Dolphin Street (1947)

On the island of St. Pierre in the English channel, two sisters (Lana Turner, Donna Reed) with similar names, Marianne and Marguerite, fall in love with the same restless young man (Richard Hart). He favors the gentle Reed over the headstrong Turner but when drunk in New Zealand, he sends a letter proposing marriage to Reed but mistakenly writes Turner's name instead and when she shows up, his best friend (Van Heflin) insists he marry Turner and make the best of it. This romantic epic based on the best seller GREEN DOLPHIN COUNTRY by Elizabeth Goudge is given the full glossy MGM treatment with no expenses spared. It's the epitome of the kind of movies Hollywood did so well during the so called "Golden Age". Earthquakes, tidal waves, Maori tribal wars, shanghaied sailors, unrequited love and nuns, who could ask for anything more? When the film is over, you know you've seen a movie! Directed by Victor Saville with a gorgeous score by Bronislau Kaper whose main theme became a jazz staple recorded by the likes of Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald among others. The special effects won an Oscar. With Gladys Cooper, Edmund Gwenn, Frank Morgan, Linda Christian, Gigi Perreau and Reginald Owen.