It was Hold Back The Dawn from 1941, starring Charles Boyer and Olivia de Havilland. CB plays a European gigolo trying to emigrate to the U.S., but he gets stuck in a Mexican border town to await entry. OdH plays a naive schoolteacher tourist. He sees marrying her as his ticket into the U.S., and pours on the schmarmy, painfully obvious seduction.
Boyer had a lovely voice, but a looker he was not, IMO. Mr. Pug and I kept giggling as we watched this old soap, because we kept picturing Pepe le Pew holding Olivia de Havilland in his arms, saying “Do not fight it, pi-jean - eet ees bigger zan boze of us”.
It was a pretty good flick, but I wish I could see Olivia de Havilland playing someone other than a gullible girl being preyed upon by manipulative evil geniuses. Eve, did she ever star in any different roles?
I’m definitely not Eve and not at her level of expertise, but if you want a couple of examples of different roles by de Haviland, I would point to her film work with Errol Flynn. While a great deal similar to one another, it is, I believe rather different than her being manipulated roles. She usually gives the impression, to me at least, of being very aware of what’s going on, and being an equal both emotionally and mentally to her leading man.
If you want a major departure for her, I would point to The Snake Pit, very powerful. Like nothing else she ever did. Hush, Hush Sweet Charlote was also different, but I still saw the old de Haviland in there.
Yeah, she’s still alive, and living in Paris, a few blocks from the Bois de Boulogne. After I watched the video of AMND with little (12-year-old) Pianola last year, Eve wrote to Ms. O’H and told her about it, and we got a very nice letter back from her. Probably because Eve left out the adjective “boner-inspiring.”
Nope, sorry. Pepe le Pew was inspired by Pepe le Moko, from the film Pepe le Moko; remade (including actual footage recycled from the original) as Algiers.
Many would disagree that Charles Boyer was not handsome, as this photograph and that photograph show a man who knew how to seduce a woman with his eyes.
(Although Boyer himself grew tired of the continental lover stereotype foisted upon him.)
I always thought his death was very sad but very romantic. (He committed suicide two days after the death of his of 45 years rather than live without her- of course it could have been a family knack for depression since his only child also committed suicide.)
TV time, I had forgotten about Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte! I’ve seen that, and liked it very much, as I did all those similarly lurid dramas of that era. Thanks for the rec of The Snake Pit, which will be on my next ordering list from Video Library.
I like to try to detect a family resemblance when I watch films starring Olivia de Havilland or Joan Fontaine. Sometimes I can see it, and sometimes they don’t look like they could possibly be sisters.
Pepe Le Pew’s accent, name and mannerisms were based on those of Charles Boyer (who played Pepe Le Moko in “Algiers”), but Chuck Jones’ book “Chuck Amuck” says that the character was inspired by Warner Brothers writer Tedd Pierce, a would-be ladies man who just couldn’t grasp the concept that he wasn’t irresistible.
and I can look at 
