Because of Him (1946)

The Worst Film Ever

Pretty Good

People are voting emotionally.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Because Of Him casts Deanna Durbin as the most winsome young ingénue seen on screen since Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory. Durbin is determined to succeed on the stage and is willing to use some extralegal contrivances to get there. But as this film is light she's not as ruthless as Eve Harrington.What she does do is pretend to be an autograph seeker and seeks out famous stage actor Charles Laughton's autograph on a folded piece of paper which opened up is a letter of introduction to a famous producer. It costs her a job at the restaurant she works at as Charles Halton her boss fires her. But it does work and Laughton is intrigued by her even with her deception.Also intrigued is playwright Franchot Tone who has a role similar to that of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in Morning Glory. Therein lies the triangle, but I don't think anyone expected Laughton to get Durbin.In fact the final scene of the play within a movie is Laughton's best as he changes Tone's dialog and the play itself to get the two of them together.Durbin has three songs and why she wasn't after a musical career is beyond me. Still fans of Laughton, Durbin, and Tone will like this.

Charles Laughton plays John Sheridan, a legendary Broadway actor who is playing his final performance of "Cyrano De Bergerac". Desperate for a vacation, he eludes inquiries about who his next leading lady will be. But a waitress named Kim Walker (Deanna Durbin) already has her eye set on Sheridan, and fools him into getting his signature (which he thinks is an autograph) on a letter of introduction. Soon it is believed that middle-aged Sheridan and young Ms. Walker are an item, and when Sheridan finds out about the scheme, he pretends to get along with it, only so he can get out of it gracefully. But Kim's pal Nora (the always delightful Helen Broderick) has a trick up her sleeve to keep Kim's name in the papers linked to Sheridan. Soon, Kim is cast as his new leading lady, finding a disgruntled playwright, Paul Taylor (Franchot Tone), out to sabotage her.For one thing, the storyline seems totally forced. Today, Durbin's Kim Walker would be considered a celebrity stalker and social climber, but here, she's a media darling. Other than a pretty version of "Danny Boy", Durbin's few songs are rather forgettable, and she really doesn't seem like someone who might be the new Jessica Tandy of Broadway. The play within the movie also seems rather corny, and the forced romance between Durbin and Tone is false as well. As with "Nice Girl?", they seem totally wrong for each other, he a bit long in the tooth for her, and she too immature for someone of his sophistication. Donald Meek adds some funny moments as Laughton's valet, but for the most part, the supporting cast (not including Broderick) can't rise above the material. What really lowers my rating for this film is the really unbelievable ending that is out of place even in the golden age of Hollywood.

As a previous reviewer remarked regarding this fine film obviously has no knowledge of what a legend Deanna Durbin is with her singing voice she literally saved Universal studios from bankruptcy with her very first film at about the age of 14. With that first film Three Smart Girls she went on to have a very successful career till the age of about 27 when she retired and now lives happily in seclusion in France. Because of Him is the story of an ambitious waitress who dreams of being on the stage and with a little trickery on her side achieves her dream with the starring role of her first play much to the chagrin of the plays writer who thinks she is totally wrong for the part, but as with most of her films it comes right at the end.

In 1941 Charles Laughton appeared in a nice little comedy, IT STARTED WITH EVE, about a multi-millionaire who (on his deathbed) is introduced by his son to the girl the son will marry. But the son (Bob Cummings) can't produce his real fiancé, so he hires Deanna Durbin to appear as a substitute. He figures his father won't survive the night, so why not do him a last favor to make his passing more comfortable. The problem in that comedy was Laughton recovers, and his doctor (Walter Catlett) insists that the substitution continue until Laughton regains his physical strength.IT STARTED WITH EVE was a good successful comedy. Five years later, Laughton and Durbin (but not Cummings and Catlett) joined together again in BECAUSE OF HIM. Laughton is John Sheridan, a prominent stage star, who meets Durbin. Or rather she intrudes into his life - this film is like an early version of ALL ABOUT EVE, except that Durbin does not have a vicious selfish streak like Anne Baxter had. Laughton and playwright Franchot Tone slowly develop Durbin's talent, so that she ends up starring opposite Laughton in Tone's latest play. But she is also aware that she is increasingly attracted to Tone, and Laughton is increasingly attracted to her.Oddly enough it is not a bad triangle. Laughton does not force Durbin to become his lover, nor does he play on her guilt feelings. He seeks to win her by his affectionate nature and honest feelings. This leads to at least one funny moment. After a rehearsal, the night before the play is to open, Laughton starts talking about E.H.Southern and Julia Marlowe, one of the finest husband and wife Shakespearean teams of the 19th Century. Durbin realizing what this type of talk may lead to starts talking rapidly about nonentity married couples (with made up names like Hinckley and Schwabs or whatever) who never recovered their acting skills after they got married. Laughton, of course has never heard of these made up stage teams, so he does not know how to respond to this barrage of "facts". Durbin is very happy to get out of the conversation with such relative ease.It is not as well known as their first film, but BECAUSE OF HIM is a good movie. It was also the last time Laughton and Durbin ever appeared together. It was good that this time they were able to play a more intimate relationship than the father-in-law/daughter-in-law they played in IT STARTED WITH EVE. And the resolution of the story actually showed a sense of maturity that is to be respected as well.