TCM-Constant Nymph 2011

The Constant Nymph
Warner Bros. - 1943
World Premiere Television Broadcast

On 28 Sep 2011, viewers with access to the TCM (Turner Classic Movies) network television channel (but unfortunately, only in the United States), will be able, for the first time, to watch one of Korngold's rarest films. The Warner Bros. 1943 adaptation of Margaret Kennedy's novel, "The Constant Nymph.", has hardly ever been seen, outside of private screenings in colleges and museums. Formerly restricted from public viewing since the early 1950s by Margaret Kennedy's estate and that of Basil Dean, decades of legal negotiating were finally resolved just this year allowing it to be played at the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. Warner Bros. has also announced plans to release the film on DVD within the next year, and a full digital restoration of the original nitrate camera negative preserved in the Warner Bros. vault is currently underway.

Margaret Kennedy's second novel, "The Constant
Nymph," (1924) and subsequent stage play
adaptation of 1926 had two film treatments prior
to Warner Bros.' purchase of the rights by January
1941. Both film versions (1928 and 1933) were
successful British adaptations, and both were
directed by Basil Dean who had assisted Kennedy
in creating the original stage play.

The new Warners feature film was preliminarily
scheduled for production in March-June 1941,
originally planned to star Errol Flynn and Joan
Leslie in the leading roles. Director Edmund
Goulding, however, had other ideas for the cast,
initially considering several British actors as
possible alternates for Flynn. Casting indecision
for both male and female leads, and reports that
the screenplay was in seemingly continual revision
would postpone the start of production until well
after the summer months.

A half dozen actresses or more - including Ann
Stanton, Joan Leslie, Nancy Coleman, and Adele
Longmire - were considered for the role by the
time Charles Boyer signed for the male lead in
November 1941. Tests began around Christmas
1941, by which time Joan Fontaine had been
engaged to play opposite Boyer. Principal
photography took place between January and
April 1942.

With the entrance of the United States into
World War II following the attack on Pearl
Harbor in December 1941, films turned to
more realistic stories instead of the escapist
romantic tones of the previous Depression
years of the 1930s. Movies that dealt with or
referenced war themes were deemed more
important to release first. As a result, certain
film releases were delayed in favor of more
patriotic films. "The Constant Nymph" was one
of these pictures whose release was postponed until the latter part of 1943.

Korngold's score for the film is a major achievement among his film music. He was closely involved in the production and story development (highly unusual for a composer back then), was frequently on set and can also be heard on the soundtrack, dubbing the piano solos of both Montagu Love (Sanger) and Charles Boyer (Lewis Dodd). Incorporating not only his usual attention to emotional and dramatic detail, with a typically intense, romantic, sweeping score, the film also contains the complete, uninterrupted performance of a concert work on screen, the tone poem "Tomorrow," at the climax of the story. This feature was reportedly new to audiences of the time, and apparently proved popular. This popularity may have contributed to Korngold's decision to release the work for concert performance and publish it. "Tomorrow" became his opus 33, the first of his published works to be based on his film music.

Among his film scores, "The Constant Nymph" was apparently one of Korngold's favorites, though as a result of the film being unavailable and unseen for almost half a century, it is his least known. All that is about to change however, and the Korngold Society is particularly delighted that, at last, one of his major works for the screen, can be seen - and heard - again.

Troy Dixon
with Brendan G. Carroll
22 September 2011

Watch the original trailer at TCM.com

Trivia:
The music that accompanies the trailer was scored separately by Korngold, not cobbled together by the music staff as was the norm.

The Constant Nymph

World Premiere Television Broadcast