Beloved Infidel (1959)

Beloved Infidel is soapy, less than satisfying, and probably quite skewed, at least in terms of the manner in which it presents the relationship between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham. The film's tale is a lopsided one in which Graham is presented as both the savior and the victim of Fitzgerald, and while there is certainly a basis in truth for this, it oversimplifies a relationship rather more complex than that. Given the film's casting, however, this may have actually worked a bit to its benefit, as Gregory Peck, as Fitzgerald, gives a performance that is so far off the mark as to be embarrassing. Peck was an extremely talented actor, but there is nothing in his persona that matches the qualities associated with Fitzgerald. As a result, Peck is totally at sea, unable to capture the pathos, demons, genius or inner life of the character, and is unfortunately incapable of pulling off either of the big drunk scenes the role requires. By contrast, Deborah Kerr is in peak form as Graham, imbuing the role with a warmth and a vulnerability that causes her to upstage Peck at practically every turn. Even when the script is at its most melodramatic, Kerr finds the emotional truth underlying the bathos; her work is rich and detailed -- and so strong that it emphasizes the imbalance between the characters that is inherent in the screenplay. Aside from Kerr, there's also some yummy Leon Shamroy photography and a very nice performance from an underutilized Eddie Albert. All this is not enough to make up for the film's flaws (including the idiotic title song), but it does make the film watchable. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide