Night in Paradise Reviews

Basically a fable, this film features Oberon as a princess in a mythical land a few centuries before Christ, a place called Lydia. Oberon is engaged to Gomez, a fat, oily Croesus who is, of course, the richest man in the world. Along comes Bey as Aesop, and he pretends to be very old and feeble, as he learned that no one will take advice from a young person. Bey woos and wins Oberon away from Gomez while managing to save his small country and his life. Sondergaard wants to marry Gomez and resents his attraction to Oberon. And was there anyone who could portray resentment and scheming better than Sondergaard? It's a very posh production with lots of beautiful costumes and sets, but the dialog is so anachronistic and so reminiscent of the mid-1940s that we can't believe a word of it. A good cast is hampered by the dumb words they have to speak. Among the cast are Ray Collins, whom Orson Welles said was the "best radio actor in the world," and Marvin Miller, who was the busiest voice in the U.S. during the halcyon days of radio drama. He would appear on as many as 40 shows some weeks, and played many different parts on the same programs. Look for a very young Julie London as one of the palace maidens.