6/10
Stepping Into Margaret's Shoes
21 December 2010
Peter Finch and Jane Fonda play a pair of unhappy marrieds who run off to Greece for a fling in In The Cool Of The Day. With this film Jane takes on a role back in the day would have been played by her father's first wife Margaret Sullavan who was always playing tragic heroines in the glory days of Hollywood.

Fonda plays a sickly woman much like Sullavan in Three Comrades. But that doesn't mean she doesn't want to live and experience life. Her husband Arthur Hill is overprotective as she sees it, treating her like a hothouse plant. As for Finch he's married to a bitter and reclusive Angela Lansbury.

As Finch is a Hellenophile it's off to Greece for them where we experience In The Cool Of The Day's biggest asset, colorful location cinematography of some of Greece's best attractions. The second thing In The Cool Of The Day has going for it is the title song written by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis who got an Oscar three years earlier for Never On Sunday. Nat King Cole's recording of it over the title credits is still warm and glowing.

But who gave Fonda that hairdo for this film ought to have been canned. Al Bundy used to call Marcy Darcy, sergeant Carterhead for her do on Married With Children and this one kind of reminds me a bit of it.

If you like the players or are a Hellenophile than you should In The Cool Of The Day.
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