UNFAITHFULLY YOURS (1948)
Directed, Produced & Written by: Preston Sturges.
Director of Photography: Victor Milner.
Edited by: Robert Fritch.
Musical Director: Alfred Newman.
Released by: Criterion Collection.
Country of Origin: USA. 105 min. Not Rated. With: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence, Kurt Kreuger & Lionel Stander. DVD Features: Introduction by Terry Jones. Commentary by scholars James Harvey, Brian Henderson, & Diane Jacobs. Interview with the director's widow, Sandy Sturges. Gallery of correspondence & stills. Trailer. Essay by writer Jonathan Lethem. English audio & subtitles.

Preston Sturges' "cerebral comedy" Unfaithfully Yours is typically pushed to the back in a canon of jewels like Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, and The Lady Eve, but this new Criterion release argues for its relevance. Prone to the quips, double-entendres, and unpredictable twists that are Sturges trademarks, a world-famous conductor, Sir Alfred (Rex Harrison), and his wife Daphne (Linda Darnell) play a truly entertaining game of cat-and-mouse in this atypically dark Sturges farce. Suspicious that Daphne is having an affair, Sir Alfred's paranoiac fantasies of retribution give Sturges and his cast an opportunity to display their considerable cross-genre talents as the film veers from screwball comedy to murderous melodrama. While grappling with his temper, Sir Alfred's conduction of scores by Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Rossini accentuate and elaborate on a character weaving unsteadily between fantasy and reality.

DVD Extras: Where many commentary tracks are bogged down with uninteresting directors - or worse, uninteresting actors - Criterion's compilation of biographers and film scholars succeeds with a rather worthwhile commentary track. With the opportunity to discuss Sturges' comedic tropes and debate derivative elements from Capra and Lubitsch alongside appropriate moments on-screen, the scholarly discourse remarks with enough detail to really deepen the viewer's understanding of the film, instead of the generalizations and nonspecific discussions that occasionally happens when Criterion merely arranges conversations by critics and historians. Ex-Monty Python member Terry Jones' gushing video introduction is one such departure from the commentary track's stimulating contributions, failing to add more than a statement of long and vague appreciation for Sturges' abilities.

The interview with Sturges' wife, Sandy, supplements the gossipy statements in the commentary with affectionate anecdotes. She connects the scholars' interpretations of Sturges' actions and intentions with details as only someone close to the director could provide. Also bearing interest is the firsthand evidence - letters, telegraphs, and memos - of the movie's dramatic history, such as the memo from the head of 20th Century Fox, Daryl F. Zanuck, declaring he will be personally re-editing the film to his satisfaction. As always, Criterion Collection has a knack for providing odd historical paraphernalia of this sort and these are the predictable norm. So while this is an excellent purchase and a wonderful DVD debut, Criterion's release of Sullivan's Travels has the greater collection of extras and featurettes concerning Sturges' craft and works as a reputable companion to this release. Zachary Jones
August 22, 2005