情海惊魂

The penultimate feature made in Ophüls' transitory active stint in Hollywood (from 1947 to1049, 4 features totally), CAUGHT is an unconcealed reproach of the hidebound “marrying rich"indoctrination that poisons beautiful young women (from less affluent background) into taking it as their sole goal in life.

The specimen under analysis is an unassuming young model Leonora Eames (Bel Geddes), who admittedly isn’t cut out to be a devout gold-digger, however, by way of sheer serendipity she falls in with just the right target, the multi-millionaire Smith Ohlrig (Ryan), but their rushed matrimony doesn’t augur well, as it is Smith's spur-of-the-moment decision to willfully contradict his headshrinker, only Leonora would have known better.

Blatantly modeled after Howard Hughes, Smith is a callous, high-handed megalomania, incessantly suffered from psychosomatic angina when he cannot get what he wants. After a fallout, Leonora strikes out on her own, leaving their august mansion and starting to work as a secretary of Dr. Larry Quinada (Mason, in hisstateside debut), a man who is the antithesis of Smith, mutual attraction sizzles during their working/after-working time, but to extricate herself from an abusive marriage, she has everything to sacrifice, including an unborn baby. The film’s espousal of pro-choice is a gallant coup-de-thêàtre transpiring as the exit route to the ill-sorted nuptial pairing, yet it is so emphatically abrupt, to a point it almost demonizes Larry for semi-foisting her in such a dazed state, and foreshadows their future in the end, which is not exactly a happy one one might foresee.

Entrusted with a very sympathetic role as the gaslighted wife who is caught into a snare, objectified as a rich man’s property and agonized by his contempt and sneer,Barbara Bel Geddes handsomely struts her stuff in manifesting disparate layers of Leonora’s emotional states, to a terrific impression. Regarding to the two dichotomy of her male co-stars, James Mason looks exquisitely dashing under the noir-ish shade, butas usual, it is the villain strikes gold, Robert Ryan effectively reveals a rough edge in his character and doesn’t relent even in those tender moments, a monster crystallized by his own obstinance, vanity and oceanic ego, and he knows it too well to readdress his atrocity.

Last but definitely not the least, what leaves a viewer profoundly awestruck is Ophüls under-appreciated (at least in its time) modality in his dexterity of unspooling the story, economy is judiciously achieved by applying newspaper tidings to inform the narrative's progression, not to mentionthose majestic-looking shots enriched by sublime composition, unconventional depth of field and transcendent chiaroscuro, often in gliding tracking shots meticulously choreographed by an invisible but steady hand. To all intents and purposes, CAUGHT is a neglected beauty needs to be dusted off from its ill-fated obscurity.

referential points: Ophüls’ LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN (1948, 8.1/10), LA RONDE (1950, 6.5/10).

#老片经典#《情海惊魂》

情节有些落俗 但画面、摄影调度一流！

从一台式电话机为中心来回切换的两位倚门而立的医生对话的 你一句我一句，对称视角特别有意思，还有大宅院里的各种大气移动 调度 ，跟着摄像机跟随主人公进进出出，上上下下，超赏心的视觉享受[鼓掌]

其实我觉的富豪男也不是完全的反派，虽然他心理有问题，控制独占欲过强，有富人天生的优越感和自私自利，但他至少不花心，对妻子在物质上有求必应，也没有在外面花天酒地玩女人。说好听点是事业性太强，太想要更大成功，野心太大。而梅森的医生角色又太过于完美，但他本身特有的阴郁气质，私以外感觉演，正面角色都带有神经质、其实他和演富豪的演员可互换一下，没有悬念，猜得到的套路结尾，但是多么美好，还是好喜欢这样的情节剧！

女主角芭芭拉.戈迪斯的温柔娴雅的气质和五官很像安妮.巴克斯特，差点搞混。

一部黑色气质的马克斯的作品。