June 6, 2022

This is quite a touching story that follows the story of "Louise" (Betty Compson), a young woman in love with "David" (Clive Brook). Before they can wed, however, he must leave to fight in the Great War where he suffers an injury that causes him to lose his memory. Both must now start their lives all over again, but at a trip to the theatre he sees the famous dancer "Deloryse" and the memory flood gates suddenly open and he realises that she is h… read the rest.

This is quite a touching story that follows the story of "Louise" (Betty Compson), a young woman in love with "David" (Clive Brook). Before they can wed, however, he must leave to fight in the Great War where he suffers an injury that causes him to lose his memory. Both must now start their lives all over again, but at a trip to the theatre he sees the famous dancer "Deloryse" and the memory flood gates suddenly open and he realises that she is his first love "Louise". They meet, and quickly realise there is still a spark there and that she had a son - his son. He confronts his wife with this news, and she initially wants nothing to do with the whole business before realising that she will have to compromise over the child else some difficult choices for all are on the cards. As a piece of cinema, it's pretty stage bound and the play (from Michael Morton and partially adapted by none other than Alfred Hitchcock) doesn't provide us with the most substantial of plots, but what there is is nicely filmed and there is a kindly chemistry between two stars, and a slightly more grudging one between Compson and Josephine Earle (his wife "Vista") to make this a sentimental, but not cloyingly so, melodrama that I rather enjoyed watching.

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