Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

atlasmb The idea of Joan Fontaine at age 25 playing a teenage girl certainly inspired my curiosity about this film. Her performance, which was one of her favorites, was Oscar nominated. Tessa Sanger is a role of complexity and Fontaine gives her a naive nobility in the body of a girl who is energetic and awkward. The daughter of a musical composer, she is infatuated with Lewis Dodd (Charles Boyer), a family friend who periodically comes to visit.Lewis is a frustrated composer with little regard for social conventions. His cynical nature is somewhat abated whenever he visits the Sangers, who live far outside the city. Lewis marries into a rich family and his wife, Florence (Alexis Smith), does her best to accommodate his artistic temperament, but she begins to see Tessa as a divisive factor in their relationship.The music in the film supports the film's story about love. Tessa's love is selfless and pure, the stuff of pure romanticism. Such sentiments are not available to Lewis, and his compositions reflect his inability to access emotional depth. Musical director Erich Wolfgang Korngold supplies a score that consciously illustrates the contrast between the dissonance of modernism with the melodic lushness of romanticism. This culminates in the dramatic and satisfying final scenes.Fine acting, solid direction by Edmund Goulding, wonderful music, beautiful fashions (if only they were in color!) all make for a unique film about love that may be timeless despite the tragic consequences of time. At its core is the performance by Fontaine, who is a joy to behold.

MartinHafer I know a lot of folks like this film. I am not saying they're at all wrong...it just didn't work for me. Much of this was because the relationship between Albert and Tessa was just a bit creepy to me...and wasn't always convincing.When the film begins, Albert (Charles Boyer) is a struggling composer. And, when he goes to visit an old friend and his children, the old man dies...leaving the daughters to stay with their grandfather. But Albert decides to spend more time with them...sort of like a godfather. The problem is that 14 year-old Tessa (Joan Fontaine) is smitten with him and longs to become his lover one day. This is when it got a tad creepy for me. Fortunately, Albert didn't reciprocate. However, after Albert marries, his marriage is a bit rocky...and all the while Tessa is watching him...longingly.My other problem with this very slickly made film is that I hate the idea of actresses in their mid-20s playing 14 year-olds. This rarely works well and I think an 18, 19 year-old could have pulled it off better. Mind you, Fontaine isn't bad (except when she occasionally stares off into space...something that she did here and in "Rebecca"...and I have no idea why)...in fact she's MUCH more convincing than Ginger Rogers in "The Major and the Minor"...a film than many love but which I think is among Billy Wilder's worst movies because of this. So, overall you have a very slick love story that many folks love...but I didn't. I didn't hate it...but that's hardly a glowing endorsement. Plus what do I know? The Academy thought Fontaine was just fine....

byron f. ware Looking at all of Joan Fontaine movies. You see the dedication she puts into her performances. I believe she was more disciplined in her method of acting. In The Constant Nymph she really gives a top performance of her career. Her and Charles Boyer really give us a exciting time. I was on the edge of my seat with the storyline. Alexis Smith whom I have always admired really turns out a stellar performance. Charles Coburn a season actor in his own right. Gives the movie flavor and excitement. I will miss Joan Fontaine with her dramatic acting and her on point performances. The Constant Nymph is a treasure to admire for many years. I really was so shocked how good this film is and this was Joan's favorite of all time.

rrgjmg I forgot to mention in my review that Kennedy followed this movie with a story about the youngest of the "Sanger's Circus", his son Sebastian. She began with a play "Escape Me Never" which was followed by a film of the same title directed by Peter Godfrey and released in 1947. Although its plot was evidently similar to "The Constant Nymph", it failed to achieve the success of the latter film. By the way, I can tell one of your reviewers where to get the music from the film, though unfortunately not the video, although I did see the video on TV in the '50's so the cellulose nitrate on which it probably was recorded must have lasted that long, anywqy. Unless Turner copied it on acetate, I assume it is gone forever.