Flesh and Fantasy
| Flesh and Fantasy | |
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| Directed by | Julien Duvivier |
| Written by | Ellis St. Joseph (Story segment 1) Oscar Wilde (Story segment 2) László Vadnay (Story segment 3) Ernest Pascal Samuel Hoffenstein |
| Starring |
Edward G. Robinson Charles Boyer Barbara Stanwyck Betty Field |
| Music by | Alexandre Tansman |
| Cinematography | Stanley Cortez Paul Ivano |
| Edited by | Arthur Hilton |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.8 million (US rentals) |
Flesh and Fantasy is a 1943 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier, starring Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer, Robert Cummings, and Barbara Stanwyck. The making of this film was inspired by the success of Duvivier's previous anthology film, the 1942 Tales of Manhattan. Flesh and Fantasy tells three stories, unrelated but with a supernatural theme, by Ellis St. Joseph, Oscar Wilde, and László Vadnay. Tying together the three segments is a conversation about the occult between two clubmen, one played by humorist Robert Benchley.
First segment The setting is New Orleans. Plain and embittered Henrietta (Betty Field) secretly loves law student Michael (Robert Cummings). On Mardi Gras night, a mysterious stranger (Edgar Barrier) gives her a white mask of beauty that she must return at midnight. At a party, Michael falls in love with Henrietta but has yet to see her face under the mask. Henrietta encourages Michael to follow a better life although it may mean losing him forever. Henrietta removes the mask at midnight discovering she is now beautiful and that her old, selfish attitude was really the cause of her ugliness.
Second segment The second story is based on Oscar Wilde's short story Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. A palmist named Podgers (Thomas Mitchell) is making uncannily accurate predictions at a party for the rich and bored. He tells skeptical lawyer Marshall Tyler (Edward G. Robinson) to avoid a certain street intersection on the way home. The palmist also acts as if he sees more in his hand but does not admit it. Tyler eschews the advice and almost gets shot during a police chase at the intersection. Tyler goes to the palmist’s home. Under pressure, the palmist admits that he saw that Tyler is going to kill someone.
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