Customer Reviews

Stolen Hours [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When STOLEN HOURS was released in 1963, the movie garnered little attention. It starred an actress, Susan Hayward, who was considered "past her prime" (it had been five years since Hayward won her Oscar for I WANT TO LIVE, which was really her final movie to get outstanding critical notices). STOLEN HOURS was filmed in England, a place where (in the early 1960s at least) only "has-beens" from Hollywood went to make movies. Plus, the film was a remake--the original version was DARK VICTORY, one of Bette Davis' best-loved and -remembered films.

This lack of attention to STOLEN HOURS is a true shame. For the film is a mature, thoughtful and touching romantic drama about a woman re-evaluating her life in the face of terminal illness.

The overall tone of STOLEN HOURS is quiet and restrained. (Some may thus feel that it suffers in comparison to the more emotionally charged DARK VICTORY.) The script is literate and serious, but with a sprinkling of gentle humor.

There are many virtues to the film. The color photography is outstanding, particularly the views of the beautiful coastal village toward the end of the film. Mort Lindsay's musical score is lovely and has some of the romantic sweep of classic Hollywood film scores. And the supporting performances are well done.

But this film truly belongs to Susan Hayward. Toward the end of her career, Hayward--like many more mature actors--tended to give performances that were broad and over-the-top (I would include her performance in I WANT TO LIVE). But here, she is remarkably controlled. She has many quiet moments that are among the finest acting scenes of her career. She seemed to truly understand the character she was playing, and responded with a performance that was Oscar-worthy (if anyone at the time had bothered to pay attention to the film).

A sad postscript: Like the character she portrays here, Hayward herself also died of a brain tumor. That fact makes viewing this film a bittersweet experience for her fans.

All in all, I recommend STOLEN HOURS as a touching romantic drama, and as a reminder of the fine acting talent of Susan Hayward.

Though it never received critical acclaim, 'Stolen Hours' remains one of my favorites films because of its sensitivity and a shining performance by Susan Hayward. Ironically, Hayward would later die in the same fashion as her character in 'Stolen Hours'. A real tearjerker at the end, and a must-have for fans of the imcomparable Susan Hayward.

I saw this film on TV years ago and it has always remained with me. I especially remember some quiet moments towards the end, and the lovely Cornwall landscape. And, of course, the great Susan Hayward, a truly fine actress. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY THIS FILM HAS NOT YET BEEN REALEASED ON DVD. It is indeed time for us to have a remastered, double feature DVD of BACK STREET and STOLEN HOURS on the market.

wonderful movie bit like dark victory, but I really prefer this one, I love anything with Susan Hayward she was a brilliant actress, I think she really took on the roles she had to play and became that particular person she was to portray in her all her movies.

Susan Hayward is an actress who really makes you feel like your there watching everything as a spectator. She's done many fine films--"I Want To Live", "The Jane Froman Story" are just a couple of them & this is at the top with those. I haven't found a bad Susan Hayward film yet. There's some actors & actresses you always know will give a wonderful performance---sometimes even with a lousy script.

Remaking Bette Davis' "Dark Victory" must have been a shocker to Davis considering her and Hayward worked (or should I say fought) together a year later in the film "Where Love Has Gone" (see my review on this movie).

In the original Davis seems a bit over the top and agitated at times. The public ate it up. Hayward gives a more subdued performance as a woman dying from a brain tumor. This version is much more lavish than the original, shot in England and the Cornwall Coast. The supporting cast, Diane Baker, Michael Craig and Edward Judd are basically forgotten, as this is Ms. Hayward's show all the way and she dominates the screen with her sympathetic performance. Many critics felt she was sleepwalking through the role when in actuality, she was being compared to Davis who appeared a bit anxious at times. Susan gives a very thoughtful, steady performance without resorting to maudlin histrionics. This is one of the better films in the latter Susan Hayward canon.

As has been noted, this is a re-make of Bette Davis' great movie, Dark Victory. That film has very much going for it, but so does this one. I saw this film before I saw Dark Victory, although I knew of it, so, for me, there were no comparison issues that needed to be made. The script has been updated to the 1960's and moved to England. Neither of those things hurts the picture in the least. The scenery is frankly much better than in the original, which made almost entirely on the Warner Bros. sound stages. Performances are very good in this version as well; Hayward is a bit more restrained than Davis was, which works fine. She is also very beautiful. Michael Craig is a good leading man; I have to say I slightly prefer him to George Brent. Craig seems more, to me at least, more believable as a doctor, as well as a bit more able to hold his own against a strong woman like Hayward. I also like Diane Baker's brief performance , and Edward Judd towers over Ronald Reagan in the other man role! If it were a matter of having to choose one version of this story to the exclusion of all others, I would choose the 1939 version, but this one can be enjoyed and appreciated in it's own right, time after time as I have done.

I just received the movie Stolen Hours and loved the movie. I had only seen bits and pieces of it on TCM. Michael Craig looked absolutely gorgeous in the movie. Susan Hayward who was obviously older, held her own against her co star. The movie was beautifully filmed and is just as good as Dark Victory. My only problem with this dvd version is I think it is deleted alot more than I expected. I have seen many stills of this movie, and the scenes are just not in this version which made it just a little disappointing. I read one of the reviews where it said a dance was deleted, but there's a window scene and a bed scene as well that are not there, that is if the stills were just not press photos. If anyone has actually seen this movie in it's original version, I would really like to know how much of it is missing from this dvd. But all in all the dvd is well made, and is worth watching. Alot of older movies get hacked up over the years and that's a shame. But this is a good movie hacked up or not. It's the only version out there, and it's a whole lot better than nothing. Even if your just buying it because of Michael Craig or Susan Hayward it's worth the price.

I AM WAITING TO GET THIS WONDERFUL MOVIE ON DVD, MADE IN 1963, OTHER SUSAN HAYWARD MOVIES MADE IN THE FIFTIES ARE ALREADY ON DVD WHY NOT THIS MOVIE????

I NEVER RECEIVED THIS ITEM. IT WAS MAILED TO ME JAN 25TH. I HAVE CONTACTED THE SELLER SEVERAL TIMES. NO ANSWER FROM THEM.