''The Constant Nymph'' is a 1943 romantic drama film starring

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

, Alexis Smith,

Brenda Marshall Brenda Marshall (born Ardis Ankerson; September 29, 1915Some question exists regarding the exact date of her birth. An article in the December 31, 1939, issue of the '' Salt Lake Tribune'' says that she was born November 29, 1915. – July 3 ...

Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), '' The More the M ...

May Whitty May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

, and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

.LIFE. "Movie of the Week: ''The Constant Nymph''" - August 2, 1943 - Page 38. It was adapted by

Kathryn Scola Kathryn Scola (November 6, 1891 – January 4, 1982) was an American screenwriter. She worked on more than thirty films during the 1930s and 1940s. Scola worked in Hollywood for a multitude of prominent production companies during the studio era, ...

from the 1924 novel of the same name by

Margaret Kennedy Margaret Moore Kennedy (23 April 1896 – 31 July 1967) was an English novelist and playwright. Her most successful work, as a novel and as a play, was '' The Constant Nymph''. She was a productive writer and several of her works were filmed. T ...

and the 1926 play by Kennedy and

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, after organising unof ...

and directed by

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwi ...

Plot

Belgian composer Lewis Dodd's latest symphony has flopped. Seeking new inspiration, he travels to a Swiss chalet to visit his mentor, Albert Sanger, and his family. Sanger's four young daughtersKate, Toni, Tessa and Paulahave a crush on Dodd. Tessa, particularly, believes that someday, when she is old enough, he will recognize the depth of her affection for him. Lewis brings out his newest work, a symphonic poem called “Tomorrow,” which he has composed for the Sanger girls to play. Albert himself is far more pleased with this “trifle” than with Lewis’s noisy modernist symphony. However, shortly afterwards, the elderly, hard-drinking Sanger dies while orchestrating Lewis’s “little tune", a task which Dodd now vows to complete himself. While remaining with the Sangers to help the family cope with their loss, Lewis renews an acquaintance with the beautiful, sophisticated Florence Creighton. Later, Lewis asks her to marry him. Tessa collapses at the news. Only her closest sister, Paula, understands why. Six months later, Florence and Lewis are in London, living in her father‘s large townhouse. They are taking care of Tessa and Paula, who now attend a boarding school. Both girls find the experience unbearable. After they run away, a worried Lewis notifies Scotland Yard. But the elusive Tessa and Paula arrive at the townhouse, just in time to witness Lewis's private performance of "Tomorrow." Much to everyone's disappointment, Lewis has taken the beautiful melody and buried it under a modernist “bangety bang” racket. As a result, even Lewis himself is convinced that more changes are needed before the scheduled concert of the piece is to take place. He thus asks Tessa to stay and help him remember the more Romanticist conception of "Tomorrow" as originally envisioned by Sanger. A few weeks later, it is the day of the concert. While dressing for the occasion, Tessa, who has a history of cardiac problems, suffers a fainting spell. Florence, who has become jealous of Tessa's close collaborative relationship with Lewis, convinces her she cannot attend. She might have palpitations and cause a scene. So Tessa remains in the townhouse's study, where she listens to a radio broadcast of the new version of "Tomorrow" as it is performed before an audience. Before the composition's end, however, she collapses to the floor and dies. At the concert hall, the presentation is met with a long ovation. Lewis rushes home to tell Tessa of their success but instead witnesses the sight of Tessa's body lying on the study floor. Lewis calls her name and embraces her, his face wet with tears. The film's score climaxes as the log in the fireplace seems to spark, then flame, and then dissolve into a brilliant sky.

Cast

Music

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

composed the music for ''The Constant Nymph''. The symphonic poem ''Tomorrow'', which was given a complete performance in the film, became Opus 33 in the roster of his works. It first was performed in concert in 1944.

Reception

Fontaine was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

Box-office

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $1,833,000 in the U.S. and $1,619,000 in other markets.

Availability

The will of Margaret Kennedy stated that the film could be shown only at universities and museums after its original theatrical run ended. As a result, the film was unavailable for exhibition for nearly 70 years. The film received its first authorized public screening in decades as part of the 2011

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

Classic Film Festival. Edmund Goulding's biographer Matthew Kennedy wrote that Joan Fontaine spoke "rapturously" of ''The Constant Nymph'': "She was nominated for a best actress Oscar for it, and it remains a personal favorite of hers." The film was released on DVD under the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

label on 22 November 2011.

Radio adaptation

''The Constant Nymph'' was presented on ''Hollywood Players'' December 17, 1946. Fontaine reprised her role from the film.

References

External links

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THE SCREEN: 'The Constant Nymph,' With Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith, Brenda Marshall and Charles Boyer, Arrives at the Strand
(''New York Times'' movie review) {{DEFAULTSORT:Constant Nymph, The (1943 film) 1943 films 1943 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films based on British novels Films based on adaptations American films based on plays Films directed by Edmund Goulding Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Erich Wolfgang Korngold Films set in Switzerland Warner Bros. films Films about composers Films with screenplays by Kathryn Scola 1940s American films