''Flesh and Fantasy'' is a 1943 American

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

directed by

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are '' La Bandera'', ''Pépé le Moko' ...

and starring

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...

, and

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

. The making of this film was inspired by the success of Duvivier's previous anthology film, the 1942 ''

Tales of Manhattan ''Tales of Manhattan'' is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart, worked on the six stories in this film. Ba ...

''. ''Flesh and Fantasy'' tells three stories, unrelated but with a supernatural theme, by Ellis St. Joseph,

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, and László Vadnay. Tying together the three segments is a conversation about the occult between two clubmen, one played by humorist

Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at '' The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thr ...

Plot

First segment The setting is

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Plain and embittered, Henrietta, secretly loves law student, Michael. On

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fa ...

night, a mysterious stranger gives her a white mask of beauty that she must return at midnight. At a party, Michael falls in love with Henrietta but has yet to see her face under the mask. Henrietta encourages Michael to follow a better life although it may mean losing him forever. Henrietta removes the mask at midnight discovering she is now beautiful and that her old, selfish attitude was really the cause of her ugliness. Second segment The second story is based on

's short story ''

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime ''Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories'' is a collection of short semi-comic mystery stories that were written by Oscar Wilde and published in 1891. It includes: *"Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" *" The Canterville Ghost" *"The Sphinx Witho ...

''. A palmist, Septimus Podgers, is making uncannily accurate predictions at a party for the rich and bored. He tells skeptical lawyer, Marshall Tyler, to avoid a certain street intersection on the way home. The palmist also acts as if he sees more in his hand but does not admit it. Marshall eschews the advice and almost gets shot during a police chase at the intersection. Marshall goes to the palmist’s home. Under pressure, the palmist admits that he saw that Marshall is going to kill someone. The notion obsesses Marshall, who decides that he must kill someone, anyone, just to get it over with. He comes close to killing two people but is unable to do so. He finally meets Podgers by accident on a bridge one night, and blaming Podgers for his problem, strangles him to death in a rage. Trying to escape, Marshall is hit by a car. The accident is witnessed by the Great Paul Gaspar, a high-wire artist, and it leads without pause into the third segment of the film. Third segment High-wire artist the Great Paul Gaspar is haunted by dreams of falling, and in each dream of doom encounters a woman, Joan Stanley, he has never met. These dreams affect his performance as he backs down from the most dangerous stunt, jumping from one wire to another. Eventually he meets his dream girl, who has serious troubles of her own. Paul later decides that he will not let his bad dreams affect him and that his life is his own. He performs the stunt successfully, not knowing that the woman that he has now fallen in love with is about to be arrested.

Cast

as Marshall Tyler *

as Paul Gaspar *

as Joan Stanley *

Betty Field Betty Field (February 8, 1916 – September 13, 1973) was an American film and stage actress. Early years Field was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Katharine (née Lynch) Field. She began acting before she reached age 15, and went ...

as Henrietta *

as Michael * Thomas Mitchell as Septimus Podgers *

Charles Winninger Charles J. Winninger (May 26, 1884 – January 27, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals. Life and career Winninger was born in Athens, Wisconsin, the son of Rosalia (Grassler) and Franz Winninger ...

as King Lamarr *

as Doakes *

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

as the Dean of Norwald *

Edgar Barrier Edgar Barrier (March 4, 1907 – June 20, 1964) was an American actor who appeared on radio, stage, and screen. In the 1930s he was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre and was one of several actors who played Simon Templar on '' The Saint'' ...

as the Proprietor of the Mask Shop

Production

At one stage the film was known as ''For All We Know''. Cummings and Field were cast in March 1943.

Deleted segment

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

was originally signed for the segment, but changed his mind. He was replaced by Universal contract star Alan Curtis in his role intended to begin with a half-hour sequence concerning an escaped killer who finds refuge with a farmer (

Frank Craven Frank Craven (August 24, 1875September 1, 1945) was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town''. Early years Craven's parents, John T ...

) and his blind daughter (

Gloria Jean Gloria Jean (born Gloria Jean Schoonover; April 14, 1926 – August 31, 2018) was an American actress and singer who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films from 1939 to 1959, and made numerous radio, television, stage, and nightclub app ...

). This sequence ended with a spectacular storm scene, staged by director Duvivier and photographer

Paul Ivano Paul Ivano, ASC (May 13, 1900 – April 9, 1984), was a Serbian– French– American cinematographer whose career stretched from 1920 into the late 1960s. Born Paul Ivano Ivanichevitch, to Serbian parents in Nice, France, he served for two ye ...

, in which the enraged killer races after the blind girl. The forces of nature spare the girl but strike down the killer. The preview audience raved about this scene, but Universal removed it and shelved it. (The very end of the deleted scene survives in the final print: the killer's body washes up on shore.)Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and John Brunas. ''Universal Horrors: The Studios Classic Films, 1931-1946'', 2007. Jefferson, NC: Mcfarland & Co Inc. , pp. 463-468. To replace the missing footage the studio connected the remaining three segments with new footage of humorist Robert Benchley. Not wanting to waste the Jean-Curtis footage Universal hired screenwriter Roy Chanslor to come up with additional material and

Reginald LeBorg Reginald Le Borg (11 December 1902 – 25 March 1989) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna, Austria with the surname Groebel and directed 68 films between 1936 and 1974. Le Borg made a series of low-budget horror films at Un ...

to direct a few new scenes, so that the segment could be released as a separate feature film. The studio insisted upon "framing" scenes wherein the refugee is shown to be innocent of the crimes for which he has been imprisoned, and which allowed a happy ending. The completed film was finally released in 1944 as ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{Julien Duvivier 1943 films 1940s fantasy films American anthology films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films based on works by Oscar Wilde Films directed by Julien Duvivier Universal Pictures films American fantasy films American drama films 1943 drama films Fantasy anthology films 1940s American films