As I believe I have mentioned elsewhere, I have never been a big fan of the cinematic remake...especially when it comes to remakes of beloved classics. Those remakes usually strike me as being completely unnecessary, as well as inevitably inferior to the originals. There have been exceptions, of course, such as John Huston's "The Maltese Falcon," and John Carpenter's "The Thing," both of which improved on their forebears and added immeasurably to the original conceptions. And so, it was only reluctantly that I sat down the other night to watch "Stolen Hours," which was indeed a retread of a beloved classic, the great Bette Davis vehicle "Dark Victory" (1939). This Davis film has been one of the crown jewels of the great actress' career ever since its release, and very few things would have induced me to watch a remake of it. However, this remake, which was released in October '63, happens to star Susan Hayward, aka "The Brooklyn Bombshell," aka "my favorite combination of looks and talent," and Hayward completist that I hope to be someday, it behooved me to see it at some point. Thus, on the occasion of what would have been Hayward's 103rd birthday recently, I finally sat down to give it a look, not expecting overly much, although I had never been let down by any of the Hayward films that I had seen in the past. The result? Well, as I expected, the film certainly does not excel its wonderful original, and yet is by itself a very solid entertainment, bolstered by still another compelling performance by Hayward. It updates its story to more modern times and relocates the events from New York's Long Island to the English countryside, although its central story line is much the same as the original's.
The film introduces us to an extremely wealthy American socialite named Laura Pember, the daughter of a Texas oil baron, who is now twice divorced and living in the countryside of England in a palatial estate. How wealthy is Ms. Pember? Well, when we first meet her, she is seen throwing a huge party to celebrate the arrival of her kid sister, Ellen, from America, and jazz great Chet Baker (!) has been hired to play in her living room at the big bash! Excusing herself from the party, Laura drives to the airport to pick her sister up, only to suffer headaches and double-vision symptoms en route, thus almost wrecking her beautiful car (a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE). Ellen (Diane Baker, here giving still another of the "sweet young thing" portrayals at which she excelled in the early '60s) evinces concern, and becomes even more worried back at the house when Laura's ex-lover, Mike Bannerman (Edward Judd, who many sci-fi fans will recall from such films as "The Day the Earth Caught Fire," "First Men in the Moon" and "Island of Terror"), tells her that she has been displaying worrisome symptoms but has refused to see a doctor. But Bannerman HAS brought a doctor friend of his to the party, John Carmody (Michael Craig), and that physician makes a subtle examination of Laura whilst speaking to her socially. He advises her to go in for tests posthaste, after noting Laura's sensitivity to light and her inability to feel an ice cube placed onto her palm. Laura reacts angrily but does indeed go for those tests, which reveal the horrible truth: She has a glioma, a type of brain tumor, and requires an immediate operation. The operation seems to go successfully, although the surgeon who has performed the procedure, Dr. Eric McKenzie (Paul Rogers), reveals to Carmody that the good effects are only temporary; Laura only has six months to a year to live at most, and her sudden demise will be preceded by rapidly dimming vision. Carmody tells Bannerman and Ellen the terrible facts but decides not to tell Laura herself. He enters into a relationship with her, and all seems to go well until Laura does a bit of snooping into his office files and reads her prognosis therein. Angry at Carmody for keeping the truth from her, she enters into a period of reckless indulgence, followed by a realization that perhaps a meaningful relationship would be best for her in her final days. The two marry and move to a tiny village on the Cornwall coast, where John becomes a country doctor and Laura manages to find some peace...as the end draws rapidly nearer....
Those viewers who tune into "Stolen Hours" expecting a good cry might be a little surprised at how things unreel here. The film is not at all mawkish or sentimentalized, not played for tears, and indeed, even those scenes that one might expect to be highly dramatic - such as when Laura reads her medical files, and when she senses that terminal dimming of vision - are downplayed, the musical background subtly restrained. This is a highly realistic film, and Laura Pember is shown to be scared but ultimately brave, emotionally conflicted yet finally a woman of steely resolve. Even her final moments will probably engender more of a feeling of admiration in the viewer, as opposed to tears. (In truth, the 9/22/61 episode of "Route 66," "A Month of Sundays," in which George Maharis' Buz Murdock falls in love with a dying actress played by Anne Francis, is much more of a tearjerker than this motion picture of two years later.) Hayward, as might be expected, is absolutely aces in this picture, her second in a row to be filmed in England, following 1962's "I Thank a Fool." Her fans will be happy to hear that she appears in no fewer than 181 of the movie's 188 scenes - this is her film all the way - and has been given 32 changes of wardrobe throughout. She had to learn to do the bossa nova for the part, and was taught by Chubby Checker himself to do the twist, although that twist sequence ultimately wound up on the cutting-room floor. (These tidbits from Eduardo Moreno's wonderful book "The Films of Susan Hayward.") Of course, an added and inadvertent subtext crops up in the film as the modern-day viewer watches, knowing full well that less than a decade later, in April '73, Hayward herself would be diagnosed with a brain tumor, ultimately succumbing to the disease in March '75, at the age of 57. Thus, we watch with some discomfort as Laura blithely discusses the imminent shaving of her hair and which wig she will wear. Bette Davis' character, Judith Traherne, in the original film does not engender this same feeling as the viewer watches, of course. It is an unfortunate and unintended attribute of the remake only, due to the unfortunate fate of its lead actress.
"Stolen Hours" has been helmed by Canadian director Daniel Petrie - his fourth film, having been immediately preceded by "A Raisin in the Sun" and "The Main Attraction" - in a fairly straightforward and no-nonsense manner. He manages to elicit solid performances from all his players. The film's script, by author Jessamyn West, alters the original's story a bit (Judith Traherne's closest female friend in the original was her secretary, played by Geraldine Fitzgerald, not her younger sister; Judith's husband, played by George Brent, goes to NYC to make a medical presentation as she lies dying, and not to a nearby house to help deliver a baby, as does Carmody) but in all remains largely faithful to it. And the film itself boasts some lovely scenery of the English countryside, especially when the action moves to that small village in Cornwall; the viewer will surely feel the impulse to move to the town of Fowey, on the Channel coast, where this segment was shot. Cinematographer Harry Waxman ("She," "The Nanny," "The Anniversary," "Wonderwall," "The Wicker Man") manages to capture that scenic glory with great finesse. And Maurice Binder, whose film-title designs for so many of the 007 films have made him a household word, here contributes still another wonderful opening-credits montage, giving us multicolored dandelion spores being blown into the wind ... a symbol of how easily we can all be just puffed away, I suppose.
So how does "Stolen Hours" finally compare to its classic original, "Dark Victory," you will be asking. Well, of course, as I expected, nothing can top the Bette Davis movie, one of the eternally great films of that celebrated year of 1939. Still, "Stolen Hours" is well worth a watch, and that largely because of Susan Hayward, an actress who always gave 100% to whichever film she was working on. She gets to run the gamut here, playing a sexy party girl, a scared patient, a woman in love, a gal who is determined to carouse and make the most of her remaining months, and finally, a contented wife. She is never maudlin here, never over the top, but rather, always hits just the right notes to keep the film well within the bounds of credibility. Hers is a more restrained performance, as compared to Davis', and the 1963 film itself is much less likely to require the use of a hankie or two. I'm glad that I finally caught up with it. "Stolen Hours" may have been an unnecessary remake, but at least it is an entertaining, intelligent and adult one. This was the 36th film of Ms. Hayward's that I have seen, of the actress' 57, and I am happy to report that it is one of her latter-day best. Most definitely recommended....
