Susan Hayward in Stolen Hours 1963

With the upcoming debut of the Obscurity Factor screening series on Monday featuring The Opposite Sex, the 1956 remake of The Women (1939) I thought we'd take a look at another remake. This film is a remake of the Bette Davis tour de force Dark Victory, also from 1939.

There are a few changes to the details, but the story remains the same. The venue has changed from the North East to England, where Susan Hayward plays Laura Pember, a divorcee. The doctor (played by a beautiful Michael Craig) isn't a research physician, he's a London practitioner who tends to the wealthy. As their romance and marriage develops, Laura convinces him to go home to the seaside town where he was reared and take up the life his father lead - that of a country doctor. While this version doesn't have the fire of the original - you don't get as much of a sense of Laura Pember as a take-no-prisoners party girl as you do with Ms. Davis, it's still a 3 hankie tear jerker, and the ultimate nobility of Laura Pember is nicely portrayed. Look for Diane Baker, looking especially lovely as Ms. Pember's younger sister.

 

There hasn't been a DVD release of this film as of yet, though it is available on VHS with a few copies to be had on Amazon.com. I recently saw this on TCM, so it's occasionally aired on TV. While the entire film hasn't been uploaded to YouTube, there are some scenes to be seen. Above is one from early in the film, uploaded by LorreB. The poster above is available from MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 7 (not on DVD, available on VHS, occasionally aired on TCM, not on YouTube in full)

Bette Davis, Susan Hayward & Joey Heatherton in Where Love Has Gone 1964

When it comes to tearing up the scenery, no one does it better than Bette Davis. Although, Susan Hayward is no slouch in the scenery tearing department either. Put them together in a film and expect fireworks! Where Love Has Gone certainly delivers on that promise. Based on a pulpy Harold Robbins novel of the same name, it's loosely based on the Lana Turner/Cheryl Crane/Joey Stompanato story of a mother/daughter love triangle. Bette Davis plays the domineering mother of sculptress Susan Hayward. Her interference in her daughters affairs have tragic consequences for Hayward and the man she loves (Mike Conners of Mannix fame). They bear a child (Heatherton) and divorce, leaving Hayward to raise her alone. Not an easy task for a woman who is in a constant state of rebellion herself.

Be ready for a huge dose of drama in this one. It's at a fever pitch right from the start. It's fun to see three generations of Hollywood women in one film, though Heatherton hasn't fully owned her glamorous womanhood yet. The film was recently released on DVD and for the time being can also be seen on YouTube in its entirety, thanks to LorreB




Obscurity factor: 5 (available on DVD, rarely seen on television, available on YouTube)