carsal7 says > I have loved this movie for over thirty years, yet Richard Hart's lines and actions always creeped me out... There's just something so "stalk-y" (if that's an adjective!) about his "Desire Me" character.
Having loved the movie so long I'm surprised you never realized the character of Jean Renaud was supposed to be creepy and stalker-ish. Hart did a great job of portraying that aspect of him.
Marise was a desperate woman who was mourning her husband's death and along came someone who reminded her of him; not because he was anything like Paul, but because he'd known Paul and knew so much about Marise. Everything he said and did was what Paul had told him; even the nickname he'd given her. It was, in a way, like having Paul back even though he wasn't there. That was how Renaud was able to manipulate Marise and get close to her so quickly. Their entire 'relationship' lasted only about a week yet she was willing to run off with him.
Also, Marise told Father Donnard that she felt sorry for Renaud and though he needed her. She wanted to be needed and thought she could do a lot to help him. Perhaps she did notice some of his creepy traits but he did tell her a little bit about his past and growing up on the streets should I guess she gave him a pass. This was just after the war. Soldiers were coming back kind of messed up and the women at home, who had been away from their husbands for so long, often had love affairs due to their loneliness and despair.
When I saw him in "Green Dolphin Street" with Lana Turner (a MUST SEE movie!), I liked him more.
I saw that movie and enjoyed it too. In fact, when I saw Richard Hart I knew I recognized him but couldn't remember in which movie(s) I'd seen him. I looked up his bio and found that he'd only made a few movies. All his other credits were on television. Oddly, I had seen every one of the four films he'd made in his very short career. I may have even seen his TV work though I don't remember. As I recall, I enjoyed each one of the movies.
I guess it's just my apprehensive nature because there's so many weirdos out there these days. Perhaps stalkers weren't around in post-WWII ??
Maybe I'm being naive but I do think people were more trusting in those days and had cause to be. I'm sure there were some weirdos around but they were less mainstream than they are today. From what I hear from older people, neighbors, relatives, and others, life really was very different at some point. This is why so many of them long for the 'good old days'. It doesn't mean there weren't some problems in society; obviously there were, but while today we've overcome some of those problems (it depends of who you ask) we seem to have a great many more and much worse problems that have developed.
Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]
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