Flesh & Fantasy

Strange and wonderful! Three vignettes illustrate the role of fortune, dreams and superstition in life, with ironic twists. Not quite as out-there as the title and promise of occult themes might suggest, but still a definite oddity in studio Hollywood, made by an outsider and co-produced by Charles Boyer. All three segments are delicious, the real stand-out probably being the Wilde adaptation with Edward G Robinson as a man on the brink of having it all, but driven insane by a prediction that he will commit murder. Love Boyer as the Great Gaspar, the drunken tightrope walker, who dreams Barbara Stanwyck into life. Beautifully and inventively staged and photographed — absolutely delightful.