Saratoga Trunk 1945

     This movie is based on a novel published in 1941 by Edna Ferber and Stuart M. Rosen about the romantic era of 1875 New Orleans.  Clio Dulaine has been living in Paris until the death of her mother.  Clio travels to her mother’s hometown of New Orleans.  She plans to reopen her mother’s French Quarter house, clean and restore everything there.  She also plans to seek revenge for the humiliation her mother received from her father’s family.  She wants to marry a rich man because she wants the status and respectability never provided for her mother.  She has her maid/companion Angelique with her and Cupidon is her jack-of-all-trades.  She meets Colonel Clint Maroon and she starts to really like him but he doesn’t fit her qualifications.  He’s from Texas and he’s not wealthy.  She follows him to Saratoga Springs to seek her millionaire there.

     This is a different time period filled with traditions and social requirements.  Step out of the norm and you can become an outcast.  A woman on her own doesn’t have any status but she has a everything when she’s married to a wealthy man.  Clio needs to think about her mother, her father’s family, Angelique and Cupidon too.  What she does with her life matters to them.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

135 min, Drama directed by Sam Wood with Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Flora Robson, Jerry Austin, John Warburton, Florence Bates, Curt Bois.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 58% critic on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 58 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 1.5* out of 4*, average user rating 4.17* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Warner Bros. wanted Lena Horne from MGM for the role of Clio but the studio refused to loan her to them for the role.