One More River Reviews

Classical Hollywood's most convincing representation of contemporary Great Britain. A superb screen adaptation of John Galsworthy's last novel, ONE MORE RIVER represents a rare melding of the sensibilities of the theatre and the possibilities of cinema. Brilliantly directed by Whale, the story centers around Lady Clare Corven (Wynyard), who has been badly mistreated by her sadistic husband, Sir Gerald (Clive). Leaving home, she begins a platonic friendship with young Tony Croom (Lawton), who falls madly in love with her. Using a detective to spy on the couple, Sir Gerald soon brings the conflict to the divorce court, a move still capable of causing a scandal at that time. Setting much of the latter part of the film in an English court of law, Whale grippingly brings the story to its conclusion. Although the subject matter of this wonderful film might seem slightly dated to an age used to divorce, ONE MORE RIVER is an exceptionally well-observed portrait of England at a specific historical moment. Lovingly rendered vignettes are everywhere, from the elderly man who has refused to vote ever since the death of Prime Minister Gladstone, to the marvelous theatrics of Clare's aunt (the legendary Mrs. Patrick Campbell). The cast is uniformly superb, with the luminous Wynyard bringing grace and insight to her victimized wife and Clive in wonderful lipcurling form as her nasty spouse. Lawton is also quite touching, and the supporting cast includes gems from Denny, Smith, Wyatt, Stephenson, Atwill, Mowbray, Gilbert Emery and E.E. Clive. In some ways this quietly splendid effort seems an Anglicized parallel to DODSWORTH as it keenly explores the sadnesses of both love's birth and marriage's twilight. Full of beautiful camerawork and gleaming with warm understanding, ONE MORE RIVER is a mature, sadly forgotten beauty from one of Hollywood's greatest directors.