+++1/2

Admirable adaptation of W. H. Hudson's novel stars Anthony Perkins as a hate-filled refugee from Caracas, Venezuela, whose search for the gold he needs to bankroll his return and revenge leads him to a forbidden forest where he meets a strange, beautiful woman. Screenwriter Dorothy Kingsley takes a throwaway lie of convenience told by the man in the book (about the gold), makes it true, and then uses it to motivate all his early actions. Did we say this was an "admirable" adaptation? Oh, yes -- inspired, even. It's no longer quite the same story, but it is a more than reasonable version of it, for film. Much of the novel was unfilmable anyway: its long interior monologues, for instance, and not least the ineffable beauty of the woman. Her name is Rima and she is played here by Audrey Hepburn, herself a more than reasonable version of her literary counterpart. What remains -- and quite a bit remains -- captures the essence of the essence of Hudson's story: a tantalizing romance -- not a "romance of the tropical forest," as Hudson wrote, but one yet between harsh reality and unsullied innocence. Several of the best scenes in the book also survive; there is humor, excitement, and some wonderful dialogue. And, finally, a different ending.

+++1/2

Love story set deep in the tropical forests of Guyana, with Venezuelan man discovering ethereal and mysterious girl who lives there with her grandfather. Filled to the brim with rhapsodic elegies to the wonders of nature, the girl's otherworldly beauty, and the man's self-absorbed deep feelings for it all; and it would have been too much, but Hudson neatly grounds the whole thing with the more prosaic complications arising from the inhabitants of a nearby Indian settlement, who believe the girl is an evil spirit. Another complication, more to the point, is that faced by the man in trying to get close to a girl who prefers to speak in her own bird-like language and who has never learned the finer points of socialization. At some point, Hudson's aim is achieved, and we become immersed in this wild world and its problematic romance. The climax is exciting and the denouement fitting. Made into a film starring Audrey Hepburn in 1959.

**

Plane crash leads politician (Kristin Scott Thomas) and cop (Harrison Ford) to the uncomfortable realization that their spouses, both killed in the disaster, were having an affair. Ford wants to know why and for how long, while Thomas would just as soon forget the whole thing. Gimmicky love story, told in a melancholy monotone, that has nothing to say about either love or infidelity. Well-made, but never convincing. Based on the book by Warren Adler.

**

Romantic comedy (in name only) starring Robert Downey as a young lothario who is ready to throw away his little black book after meeting museum tour guide Molly Ringwald.  Stupid plot has Downey believing 50-year-old lush Dennis Hopper is Ringwald's boyfriend (he's her father) and getting mixed up in their mob troubles.  The unfunny dialogue is delivered mostly by Downey who is supposed to be charming, but is merely manic; Ringwald, meanwhile, looks nice but has nothing of interest to say.  About as romantic as a backseat quickie between strangers.  Spoiler alert.

****

Pre-Code romantic comedy-drama starring barely-18-year-old Marian Marsh as Margie, whose girlish dreams of marriage are assaulted by life on the poorer side of the big city and shattered when her older sister announces she wants a divorce.  “I’ve made up my mind,” Margie says, “that any time I hand myself to a man for life, it’s cash on delivery” — a sentiment that doesn’t sit well with love-struck boyfriend Jimmy (Regis Toomey), but finds favor with rich playboy Raymond (Warren William).  Rife with unpunished immorality and snappy dialogue.  Grim and fascinating, yet also funny and fast-paced.