Escape Me Never (1947)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

. . . during the Advent of the "Talkies," Prophecy moved from the exclusive realm of pedantic professorial prattlers into the bailiwick of Joe Blow and Rosie Riveter, the True Blue Union Label "Little People" who buy the vast majority of movie tickets. So during Warner's ESCAPE ME NEVER, what present-day deplorable villainess is this story's cold-hearted Rich Witch home-wrecking Fat Cat heiress "Fenella MacLean" clairvoyantly crafted to represent? Hint: Warner provides us with a whopping clue when Fenella lures "Sebastian" into killing working class single mom "Gemma's" baby "Piccolo" through his gross neglect. Can anyone view these traumatic scenes during the long hot summer of 2018 and NOT instantly think of America's Reincarnated version of "Marie Antoinette," who visits one of her husband's notorious Child Abuse Centers wearing a "designer" frock reading "I just don't care: Let them eat cake"? If "E. In-Like-Flynn" writing ballets seems implausible to you during ESCAPE ME NEVER, ask yourself how better could the eponymous Warner Bros. predict the appointment of an illegal alien porn starlet as America's Third Lady?

The film gets going awfully late and that's only when Ida Lupino is able to pour it on in her usual excitable way.Through an error the Eleanor Parker-Gig Young relationship is curtailed when Eleanor falls for brother Errol Flynn. Both men in the field of music are quite different from each other. Flynn, hoping to compose an opera, takes in Ida Lupino with a young baby. With the right brakes thanks to Parker, it appears that Flynn, who has now wed the Lupino character, will get his opera made. The falling apart of that project brings everyone to a downward spiral. Flynn leaves Lupino for Parker and tragedy comes to the Lupino infant.Of course, Flynn eventually realizes that Parker is not the woman for him as the film ends.It is only Lupino's performance that saves this somewhat. Flynn is terribly miscast and Eleanor Parker, again proves how selfish she could be in motion pictures. Young is rather benign in his part of Parker's suitor.

For big fans of Errol and big fans of period romance musical comedy/drama combo,this movie will deliver the goods.The story hits the spot for the genre.Very good music,very good cast and acting as well.What kpt this movie from becoming a classic though was the low budget and average directing.The cinematography was also below average.But still,Errol Flynn is so charming here as usual and for the right audience,it's still a winner.This film was unfairly under rated due to the dreaded anti-Flynn syndrome bandwagon......

'Escape Me Never' is a tired remake of an Elizabeth Bergner film from the '30s and they should have thought twice before filming it. As the N. Y. Times so aptly observed: "Harsh and unbelievable...the script is a frightful thing." Ida Lupino only made it because she was eager to co-star with Errol Flynn (they had a brief romantic relationship) but despite competent performances by all concerned, none of them have a chance against the poor script. Basically, it's the story of two musician brothers (Errol Flynn, Gig Young) and their involvement with two women (Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker), a romantic tearjerker with occasional flashes of humor. Ida is the poverty-stricken Gemma in love with Flynn who is unfaithful to her until his reformation at the end. One of his musical compositions is brilliantly performed by a full orchestra and here Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score soars. He was unfortunate in that some of the films he scored were considerably less worthy of his talent than they should have been. His music is the only redeeming value of this disjointed, uneven mess of a film, a short original ballet, Primavera, and a popular song that was well received, Love for Love. Production-wise, the film suffers from an obvious use of process shots and sound-stage simulations of the Alps.My career article on Ida Lupino is due to appear in the Fall issue of FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE.