Forever Amber (1947)

Set in 1660 England during the Restoration era of Charles II (George Sanders, no surprise stealing the movie), a young country girl (Linda Darnell) feeling repressed by the rural country life as well as by her adoptive father (Leo G. Carroll) flees to London to make her fortune. Though  in love with one man (Cornel Wilde), a profiteer on the seas for the King, she sleeps her way to the top of court society until she becomes the King's mistress. Based on the scandalous best seller (it was banned in fourteen states and condemned by the Catholic church) by Kathleen Windsor and directed by Otto Preminger. It's difficult to see what all the fuss was about based on the resultant and considerably cleaned up (courtesy of the Hays code and the Catholic Legion Of Decency) film. What we end up with is a colorful costumer about an ambitious vixen and while the heroine is a "wicked" slut, as played by the appealing Darnell, you can't help but like her. Still, all in all it's too tasteful when it should be a bit more naughty or, yes, even vulgar. I mean when you have a sexy wench manipulating those around her and sleeping her way to the top, it should be more fun, no? And Darnell could have used a livelier leading man than Wilde who seems too enervated here. The plague and great fire of London sequences are handled very nicely. The Oscar nominated underscore by David Raksin is a thing of beauty. Alas, the film's original bittersweet final moments have been cut and the film ends abruptly. With Jessica Tandy, Richard Greene, Anne Revere, Glenn Langan, Richard Hayden, Robert Coote, Margaret Wycherly (very good as a murderous nurse), John Russell, Norma Varden and Alan Napier.