...who completely loathed the Kent Smith character, Oliver? That whole "I had to marry you to see that I loved Alice" speech he gave? It was so hurtful. Any intimacy issues that Irena had probably would have doubled after that. I just hated the character by the end.
shareHe was such a pr**k. I also didn't think he was good-looking enough for her (she totally "settled"). He was equally loathsome in Curse of the Cat People--he was an awful husband, and an awful father to Amy.
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What a dick! He blew it big time. I was hoping to see him torn to shreds the entire movie. Though in his defense, he was suffering from a terrible case of blue balls! Still, it's no exuse.
Yeah, he was a prick but... she told frankly before marrying him that she didn't want to fall in love with him she didn't want to fall in love anyone and during the dinner with his gathered friends one of them tells another "he is worried about the marriage" and the simple fact Irena never shut ups about the "cat people" and "curses" and "evil" in herself. She might not have been the best happiest company to be around carrying that emotional baggage. Irena was melancholic and downbeat all time whereas Alice was always upbeat with suredness and strong personality always the optimist with a sense of humour to match.
I am sorry he should have given her more time yet again what a headcase really?!!
And then she gets all possessive and psycho towards Alice.
Jingle Bells!.... Jingle Bells!.... ah Jingle Bells!
I hate Alice!
shareWell Alice was trying to steal her husband away from Irena and she did so successfully. It's hard for Irena not to be jealous when they treated her so condescendingly.
shareBy the end of "Cat People" I thought that character was an idiot, an utter dork who was completely stunted in the development of his worldview. His actions reminded me of those a child might exhibit; not malicious per se, but very short-sighted and self-centered with no thought for the ramifications. I mean, what rational, clued-in person decides to fall in love and marry based on a tea break? But then, by the end of "Curse of the Cat People", I thought that guy was also just the biggest, most maladjusted and hopeless boor ever inflicted on the world, next to, say, Pete Rose. Still, I have to wonder if he merely typified the mentality of the average '40s male. It's not, after all, like it was a very sophisticated time for Mr. and Miss Average American Person in the fields of sex, relationships, or gender relations, particularly concerning the manner in which men viewed women. At least Kent Smith, who played Oliver, was pretty enough, and a good enough actor to keep me watching, even though I was ready to throw my shoe at the character's head.
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I kept waiting for them to sign her up for a lobotomy. I thought they (incl the doctor) were sadistic, enjoying what they were doing. And then SHE dies!
shareOliver bothered me, too. He seemed okay to begin with, but got out of the kitchen in a hurry once the heat was on. Interestingly, this makes him the most realistic (if unappealing) character in the film, and I think that was Val Lewton's intention. Bear in mind what Oliver reveals to the viewer in his conversation with Alice approximately midway through the film: he's just a regular joe who had "a lot of laughs" growing up, who enjoys his work and day-to-day existence, and has never had to confront a real problem. He doesn't know how to deal with what's happening to Irena; he's out of his depth. So, while this renders Oliver unsympathetic to many of us, it serves Lewton's purpose. Oliver isn't there to be sympathetic; he's there to show us that just plain folks are apt to be unreliable in a crisis. This underscores the lonely, hopeless nature of what Irena is experiencing.
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I wasn't a fan of his, but I disliked Alice even more. I thought she just seemed like such a bitch.
Come, fly the teeth of the wind. Share my wings.
and Alice, that self-serving speech she makes to Olver about what LOVE really is and how conveniently she describes it as HER relationship with him and totally disses his "love" for Irena. What a typical "Other woman" speech. Every time I see the movie, I keep expecting Alice to give him a foolproof plan for killing Irena becuase that's where it seems to be going.
THEN, when we go to Curse of the Cat People and see the kind of AWFUL parents Alice and Oliver have turned out to be to their daydreaming, possibly enchanted little girl, I was GLAD when her Imaginary Friend turned out to be Irena, looking after her, comforting her and caring for her the way her parents can't be bothered to. I saw this in a theater with Robert Wise and even HE reacted with a wince when Alice sends Oliver upstairs to whip the poor kid for believing in the Magic Mailbox. (in Curse of The cat Poeple, Irena's character is fleshed out a bit and shown to be a watchful guardian over the child she was never able to have with Oliver)
l get that they were simpoly modeling the distant parenthood of that age but the fact that Amy has a 'Fairy Princess" who looks after her and is possibly the spirit of her father's first wife, is proof that Irena loved Oliver in her own way and loved him enough to look after the child of her worst rival, the egomaniacal Alice! The same Alice who did her best to break up Oliver's 1st marriage from day one in the previous film.
So who turned out to be the better person of the 3? I would say poor melancholly Irena, who gave into her love for Oliver when she knew it could only lead to madness or death. Alice was just sitting there all smug-like waiting to swoop in and end that romance any way, anyhow. man-stealing beeyotch. irena and Oliver might have worked it out if she had let them have a chance.