Rage In Heaven
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''Rage in Heaven'' is a 1941 American
psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
about the destructive power of jealousy. It was directed by W.S. Van Dyke and based on the 1932 novel by James Hilton. It features Robert Montgomery,
Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...
, and
George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...
.


Plot

The film opens with the following quote: "Heaven hath no rage like love to hatred turned." which is incorrectly attributed to Milton (quote is from
William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright, satirist, poet, and Whig politician. He spent most of his career between London and Dublin, and was noted for his highly polished style of writing, being regard ...
's ''
The Mourning Bride ''The Mourning Bride'' is a tragedy written by English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1697 at Betterton's Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. The play centers on Zara, a queen held captive by Manuel, King of Granada, and a web of love and ...
''). At a mental institution in Paris, Doctor Rameau ( Oscar Homolka) discusses with the British consul the case of a man who identifies himself as Ward Andrews. The doctor believes Andrews to be English and wants the consul's assistance in verifying this. Outwardly the man may seem sane, but underneath he suffers from paranoia, suicidal tendencies and is capable of murder. The doctor takes the consul to meet Andrews, but they discover he has escaped. Phillip Monrell ( Robert Montgomery) and his former college roommate Ward Andrews (
George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...
) run into each other in London and Monrell invites his old friend back to his family home. When they arrive, they meet Stella Bergen (
Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...
), the secretary of Phillip's mother ( Lucile Watson). Both men are strongly attracted to her. She is friendly with the more responsible, hardworking Ward but prefers and marries the idle Phillip instead. Ward leaves for a job in Scotland. Phillip is put in charge of the family steel mill but is not suited to the position. He begins to exhibit signs of mental illness, in particular, abnormal suspicion that his wife and Ward are in love. Despite this jealousy, he invites Ward for a visit and hires him to be the chief engineer at the mill. Eventually, Phillip's paranoia drives him to try to kill his perceived rival at work. Ward confronts him, admits his love for Stella, quits the steel mill, and returns to London. After a frightening moment with her husband, Stella leaves him and goes to Ward. Phillip promises to grant her a divorce if Ward will return to talk with him in person. Having prepared a plan designed to frame Ward, Phillip provokes a loud argument with him which he knows is being overheard by a servant. Afterwards, Phillip kills himself, after ensuring that Ward will be arrested for murder. Ward is convicted and sentenced to be executed. The day before the execution, Stella is visited by Dr. Rameau. He has seen a photo of Phillip in a newspaper and informs her that her husband was a patient who masqueraded as Ward Andrews and escaped from the institution. He is convinced that Phillip committed suicide and that he would have left some message bragging about it. Phillip's mother reveals that her son kept diaries; then, Clark (
Aubrey Mather Aubrey Mather (17 December 1885 – 16 January 1958) was an English character actor. Career Mather was born in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, and began his career on the stage in 1905. He debuted in London in ''Brewster's Millions'' in ...
), the
butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
, remembers that he mailed a package to Paris the night Ward visited and Phillip died. Stella and Rameau take a flight to France and find the book, which exonerates Ward.


Cast

* Robert Montgomery as Philip Monrell *
Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...
as Stella Bergen *
George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...
as Ward Andrews * Lucile Watson as Mrs. Monrell * Oskar Homolka as Dr. Rameau * Philip Merivale as Mr. Higgins *
Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton ( ; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and silversmith. He was a business partner of the Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the par ...
as Ramsbotham *
Aubrey Mather Aubrey Mather (17 December 1885 – 16 January 1958) was an English character actor. Career Mather was born in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, and began his career on the stage in 1905. He debuted in London in ''Brewster's Millions'' in ...
as Clark * Frederick Worlock as Solicitor-General * Francis Compton as Bardsley *
Gilbert Emery Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle (June 11, 1875 – October 28, 1945), known professionally as Gilbert Emery, was an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945. He was also a playwright, author of seven Broadway pla ...
as Mr. Black * Ludwig Hardt as Durand (credited as Ludwig Hart)


Reception

When the film opened, in March 1941,
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
critic
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...
looked to a wartorn world and observed: “At a time when the world is already sufficiently concerned with paranoiacs, Metro has oddly seen fit to create yet another—and a thoroughly unsympathetic one.... True, the depredations of this wholly fictitious marplot are comfortably confined to the screen—and that is a blessing, at least. But why he should ever have been invented, why he should have been so clumsily conceived and why Robert Montgomery should have been chosen to play him is hard to understand. Certainly, the picture itself fails to offer any adequate justification.... Ingrid Bergman plays with a warm and sincere intensity which is deeply affecting.... But Mr. Montgomery in the focal role is inclined toward a deadpan deliberateness which grows monotonous... he never really suggests a mental crack-up. He is just a fellow with a mean disposition—a pointlessly diabolic wretch. It has been reported from Hollywood that Mr. Montgomery was compelled to play this role as "discipline" for some things he said in public about motion pictures. That may be an explanation for the general obtuseness of the film, but it seems like a desperate device. There is such a thing, you know, as cutting off one's nose to spite's one's face. And, in turning out ''Rage in Heaven'', Metro hasn't done itself any good.” Describing ''Rage in Heaven'' as “one of MGM’s stock-in-trade grandiose jobs,” film critic Manny Farber, in ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'', November 26, 1946, offers this appraisal of Bergman’s performance: Writing in 2011, film critic Dennis Schwartz was disappointed with the film and wrote about the problems on the set: "MGM forced Montgomery to make this pic under threat of suspending him and cutting his studio salary. ... Montgomery wanted time off the seven-year contract for a vacation. To get even with the studio Montgomery decided to just read his lines in a deadpan manner and not act. This ruse didn't help a pic that needed all the help it could get, as the plot was far-fetched and the melodramatics were stilted."Schwartz, Dennis
''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', film review, July 7, 2011. Accessed: July 10, 2013.


References


Sources

* Farber, Manny. 2009. ''Farber on Film: The Complete Film Writings of Manny Farber''. Edited by Robert Polito.
Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published more than 300 volumes by authors ...
.


External links

* * * * {{James Hilton 1941 films 1940s psychological thriller films American black-and-white films American psychological thriller films Film noir Films based on British novels Films directed by Richard Thorpe Films directed by W. S. Van Dyke Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Films set in England Films set in Paris Films set in London Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films scored by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language thriller films