The Lost Moment (1947)

Memorable, crazy movie

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The first must-see film of the year.

No need to detail the plot since others have done it better than I can.Once again I'm reminded that Susan Hayward was one of Hollywood's finest actresses despite her glamorous good looks. Here she does triple duty while under the spell of an ossified aunt (an unrecognizable Moorehead) and, of course, a darkly haunted mansion. One minute she's severely repressed Tina; the next she's a deluded but happy Tina; and finally she's a liberated Tina, who's happily her true self. The versatile actress manages all three persuasively, though repressed Tina in her severe hair bun almost had me under the couch.If Tina's having trouble with her identity, so's Venable (Cummings) who's at the mansion under false pretenses. But once he's scoped out a flowing-haired Tina, he's having trouble deciding whether he's really a sneaky publisher on a lucrative mission or just another hormonally driven ankle-chaser. Sunny actor Cummings may seem an odd choice for roaming dark mansions, still he low-keys throughout, allowing the story's Gothic merits to remain uppermost.And what great atmosphere the staging produces. Sure, events never leave the soundstage, yet that move allows full artistic control of visual effects, which are as much a movie presence here as the performers themselves. And, oh yes, mustn't overlook poor Joan Loring as the repressed servant Amelia. Hers is a movingly soulful performance that at times is almost tearful. Too bad her character track just sort of vanishes to no conclusion. And that's a downside in the script, as John Archer's rather villainous character is also abruptly abandoned for no apparent purpose. It may be that the screenplay tried to adapt too much of the Henry James novel and ended up cutting some cornersAll in all, this is vintage Hollywood hitting on at least seven cylinders despite somewhat derivative material. And a lot of that success I think is owed to outstanding producer Walter Wanger, a position in the production chain that's too often overlooked.

What is it with this film? If you love cinema, you have to love every movie of the 40s?The acting? poor, very poor. Neither Cummings, nor Hayward are ANY good. And the great Agnes Moorehead, apart from her voice, what acting is there? You hardly ever see her, and never really see her eyes at all.The score? rather conventional, uninspired, haunted-house-kind-of-thing.The story and dialogue? I found the story rather boring and there was never anything that really caught my interest. All very predictable and - again - conventional.The cinematography/production design? is the best thing about this movie. Pretty nice and atmospheric, well done.So thanks to Hal Mohr and Alexander Golitzen this movie is not a total waste of time.

Publisher Robert Cummings is searching for love letters by a famous poet and writer. Agnes Moorehead was the objet d'amour in question. In his quest, he takes the cover of looking for a place to rent. As they are in need of money to keep their old homeplace and to keep away inevitable change, Agnes and daughter Susan Hayward charge an exorbitant amount, but he desperately agrees. In this otherworldly, haunting, and Gothic film, much of the film's appeal is its atmosphere and mood. But this has much to recommend it, the cast alone to begin with. In fact, this is one of those movies that film buffs go crazy over - the cast, the time and place, the search for love letters, the grasping for answers for things unexplainable. A true field day that delivers everything. Also, something else that was made a to-do over is the makeup Agnes Moorehead wears in this film that makes her look over 100 years old. Her subtle and understated performance gives the viewer just enough to want more. This was actor Martin Gabel's sole directorial effort, based on a Henry James novel. It was an exceptional tour-de-force for all and a true movie experience to behold. But what happens, you ask? It's just beyond your reach. We'll always keep reaching for things unattainable. The place has a hold on its inhabitants and the film has a hold on you. Don't you hear it? It's calling you....

As the great Frank Sinatra song says, "if you could survive to 105 look at all you'll derive out of being alive". Well in The Lost Moment Agnes Moorehead does survive to that advanced age, but she truly looks like she's not deriving much from her continued existence.The Lost Moment casts Robert Cummings as a book publisher who goes to Venice on a mission to get some rumored love letters of a famed poet who mysteriously disappeared in the last century. The great love of his life was Agnes Moorehead and she's survived him considerably. She lives in a decaying mansion with a many generations removed niece played by Susan Hayward. Cummings comes there with a ruse to rent a room from the ladies who are in genteel poverty, not that Moorehead is exactly a spendthrift at this point. Cummings pretends he's a writer trying to soak up some Gothic atmosphere, but he wants those letters to publish. The late poet wrote some of the best romantic words ever and these would be a find. Like a lost play of Shakespeare.The film is based on a Henry James novel and James would have to wait a bit for The Heiress for one of his works to get a really great screen interpretation. Everyone tries hard, but the emphasis in this film is on atmosphere and that seems to overwhelm the players.However fans of Cummings, Hayward, and Moorehead will approve.