For those unaware of the tremulous story behind Quality Street it surrounds a love between an aging woman and a man who has chosen the Army instead of marriage. It is about a love that is 10-years old and the choice of beauty over person. Dr. Brown returns within that time span and to Phoebe's misunderstanding, believes he would prefer the younger version of her own self [she has just turned 30 and weakly describes the downward spiral from 29 to 30]. So, instead of confronting Dr. Brown with her feelings, she spends over an hour devising a plan where her alter-ego, Miss Livvy, is her exciting, younger version of herself. She goes out, she has fun, she shows Dr. Brown, as well as others from the Army, what a young woman is like. Like all films of this nature, the crux comes with the inability to be in two places at once, and slowly Phoebe's plan becomes too difficult to handle.
Slowly, the film begins to unravel. Not only do our creators make our actors run to continue the rouse, but they weight down the final act, giving us less realism and more absurdity to wrap up this tall tale. Our characters are forgotten merely to put an end to the farce. Does this work? No. By the end, it is unclear as to why love exists at all. It is unclear as to why Dr. Brown went through the entire ordeal at all. It is unclear as to why he brings this sign from outside [the only job these two women have to support themselves] and tells Susan (the older sister) to use it as firewood. It is the fogginess of these elements that create confusion instead of excitement as our two love-birds finally embrace.
Adding to this mix is a group of sinister spinster who show no passion for anyone except for gossip. They seem hell-bent on finding out the truth, no matter what friendship is hurt in the process.
These batty old women [who are genuinely old], are placed as the comic relief of this film. They are added to create further tension and as an outside "evil" element against our heroine Phoebe. What should have come across as funny, just transforms into annoying as these three find themselves everywhere they plausibly could not be. Dances, sneaking inside the house, random placement, these women are interjected, not story driven, thus nagging on Hepburn's back instead of adding to her comedic peril. Add to this mix another larger, plump man [one of only four within this entire film] who uses the wink to spook these women who believe love is the work of the devil, yet cannot seem to fathom why they do not have men themselves. It is a less engaging process, only dumbfounded by the fact that nobody is funny. Agreed that it is tense, but funny it is not.
This leads to three final elements on why/how Quality Street remains good, but fails to be great. The first being that Phoebe actually courts other men. There are a group of soldiers who are all vying for the prize of Miss Livvy's heart, and the wake of Phoebe's uninstructed idea there are more that find themselves hurt than Phoebe's attempts for love. The above laughing man is caught in a moment, little does he know, the walls are about to crumble down upon him. The next has to be with the logistics of this story. It was originally a play developed and written by J.M "Mr. Peter Pan" Barrie himself, but transformed into a film there are just too many cinematic plot holes that can be forgotten in the stage setting. The third and final discuss the idea of what Hepburn must do to solidify her character. She needs to be two different people. She does not do this.
Notice the shot in this photo above. This is the big surprise at the end, the idea to end all ideas that provides less laughs but instead an end to a long-winded tunnel of cinema. For those at home unaware of how Hepburn transforms from Miss Livvy into the aging Miss Phoebe, it involves less makeup, but instead a mere night cap. When Hepburn's hair is covered, she looks wicked old, but when she is the young & the restless, she puts her hair up and regains that spring in her step. The average person would not see the difference, but thankfully, the Doctor - the man who uses his eyes for surgery - cannot see any problems. Arg, if only he was watching this movie.
Despite the push for patriotism early within Quality Street, I can see why this film never made it as a full blown DVD release. Actually, what Quality Street did for me was realize that the Warner Archive has much much to offer. This is my second film I have watched from that collection, and while this wasn't as impressive, seeing Hepburn in a less flattering role helps solidify her as a less bankable star. She had troubles, just like those actors today who find themselves doing the forth sequel for the money. Quality Street is no Blithe Spirit, and I feel like the two shouldn't fit together - but there are "play" elements that fit. I thought about Blithe while watching this because of the simplicity, and how it ruined this film but empowered Blithe. Ok, I realize that was a random tangent for the end, but it just flew together.
Overall, I was mediocrely impressed with this film. It had potential, but ultimately focused on the wrong parts to make it a detailed comedy. The use of the switch was horrible, thus causing the remaining framework to crumble behind. A long time coming, but this was found in my "Videohound 2009" book. This ends the Qs, which was a middle of the road battle for me. This is getting a pink mark. Good, but not great. I could suggest this to friends who enjoyed the age of the film, but sadly, it just didn't fully work for me.
How about those pictures?
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