Technicolor of Love
"Moving and scintillating! Heartbreakingly beautiful! The timing of every shot, every gesture, every movement was so impeccably precise and economically expressive that an entire classical tradition unfolded before a stunned audience."—Andrew Sarris
Deceased turn-of-the-century playboy Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) presents himself to the outer offices of Hades, where he asks a bemused Satan for permission to enter through the gates of hell. Though the devil doubts that Henry’s sins qualify him for eternal damnation, Henry proceeds to recount a lifetime of wooing and pursuing women—his long, happy marriage to Martha (Gene Tierney) notwithstanding. This sophisticated comedy of manners from legendary filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch (To Be or Not to Be) was his first in Technicolor, and he makes the most of it with lavish costumes and stunning sets all the while maintaining his signature touch.
